Everquest as a whole a is a very profitable franchise for anyone that owns it. <snip?
Certainly true in the beginning but we can be equally certain that it wasn't profitable in the final years of SoE (under Sony).
Now whether EQ1 and EQ2 are making enough money to cover their costs - no idea. We can be equally certain though that they are "more profitable" now that DBG is no longer spending money on "new" development (as opposed to EQ1/2 dlc).
So when Russell Shanks gave this interview was he:
a) unaware that they (DBG) were about to announce the imminent closure of Everquest Worlds; b) or he "forgot" to mention it when asked about the future of EQ?
It probably wouldn't have fitted the narrative of his speech. Announcing the end of TWO EQ projects at the same time might have given the "wrong" impression...
I want you guys to think about something. They said EQN "just isn't fun" yet they're continuing on with Landmark. Digest that.
I find that very bizarre.
We are cancelling the game because it just isn't fin but are keeping the toolkit we used to make the game that doesn't have any of the fun elements by default and are going to sell that....Just shouts "be better fulfill our legal obligations so that we don't get everyone asking for a refund.
They also said thing things they have learned many things making EQN will be added to future games. My guess is if they are keeping Landmark, it will be getting at least some of that. With a dev teams focused on Landmark for Landmark (not just a tool to build EQN any more) My guess is we will see many updates that expand what Landmark is. I hope they start expanding props for non-fantasy elements. The combat is really sad, I wonder if it will be getting an update? Or will it just linger till the game dies. I hope we start getting some new Blueprints for what to expect for Landmark.
So Landmark with its few hundred players is going to get its own dedicated development team?
The same game that just a few months ago Daybreak abandoned in order to focus on EQNext... which itself was just cancelled.
The nothing they have shown for EQN for nearly 2 years is now going to be added to Landmark?
Based on what Daybreak has said about what they have learned developing EQN is two things: 1) it was too expensive and 2) it wasn't fun.
Which of those two things does not apply to Landmark right now?
Sorry to say, this game was doomed to me when they had the big reveal with 2 hours of sand drawings. I stopped watching the reveal stream during that, and never believed the game had a chance from that time on. As it turns out, I was right, not that that is saying much. it was painfully obvious.
Sorry but i don't believe anything these guys say.
When they told us they were all about community right after firing the community staff,i knew right then and there ,these guys are BS'rs.
Now their focus is on H1Z1? LMAO this has been their only cash cow,but it is rubbish and all anyone plays is BR.They claim they are trying to launch the game....wtf,it has been launched for over a year now.Nothing as far as game play has changed over that entire year,a few more assets were added but nothing else.
If they are putting all their focus in H1Z1 ,just how small is this team,all i see is what would take 3-4 people a cake walk over the last year.I can't believe this is the same team that pulled off EQ and EQ2,although even in those two games i saw a lot of cheat corner cutting in game design.
Ehmmm pretty much the entire old garde that was responsible for EQ and EQ2 are long gone.
That's why EQN was a joke to begin with and was doomed at the start.
I already expected cancelation the moment SOE became DBG.
That it took this long to cancel actually suprised me.
Well i have a lot of hate for DayBroke so they will get like 0 from me!0 shared clips,0 Euros,0 likes,and maybe a lot of hatefull words.EQN was the dream,at least for me .Now that dream is dead #feelsbadman
Does DBG have anything positive going for it at all? I had no interest in EQN because Im not a fan of voxels but it seemed like alot wanted this to be made.
I want you guys to think about something. They said EQN "just isn't fun" yet they're continuing on with Landmark. Digest that.
I find that very bizarre.
We are cancelling the game because it just isn't fin but are keeping the toolkit we used to make the game that doesn't have any of the fun elements by default and are going to sell that....Just shouts "be better fulfill our legal obligations so that we don't get everyone asking for a refund.
They also said thing things they have learned many things making EQN will be added to future games. My guess is if they are keeping Landmark, it will be getting at least some of that. With a dev teams focused on Landmark for Landmark (not just a tool to build EQN any more) My guess is we will see many updates that expand what Landmark is. I hope they start expanding props for non-fantasy elements. The combat is really sad, I wonder if it will be getting an update? Or will it just linger till the game dies. I hope we start getting some new Blueprints for what to expect for Landmark.
You are delusional if you think Landmark is going to do anything other than wither and die.
It was the test bed and building foundation for Everquest Next and the very game it was intended to help build got canned. I bet the only reason they are launching Landmark is because it would cost them more not to. If they shut it down and had everyone ask for refunds for example, or to avoid some legal thing like a class action or false advertising.
I think your just too passionate and hopeful to admit what's going on.
It's dead Jim.
Clearly they are not going to come out and say: "We have also assessed Landmark and decided its not fun".
And they will have recognised that closing EQN will "diminish" "team EQ"; diminish as in make them less money. Hence why the closure of EQ Worlds was not mentioned - SpottyGekko is 100% correct in saying that it didn't fit the narrative. And this will also be why we got the "learned many things making EQN" comment. An attempt to create an image of a thriving, powerhouse of a brand rather than one that is simply chugging along with no "new future". (Any company worth its salt applies things it learns to other projects as soon as possible, it doesn't wait until it closes a project.)
They key to what lies ahead for Landmark is the announcement of Hayley "taking over". This could mean that Hayley is being put in charge of all the Landmark / ex-EQN people; the liklihood is that it simply means the EQ1 / EQ2 / EQ Worlds team(s) now also get to support Landmark. I could easily see zero people being added to the team(s). There might be a few new team members or maybe an off-set from closing EQ Worlds.
Remember: EQN is being cancelled because its not fun CN no longer wish to spend money on it. And you save money by laying-off the team / moving them onto titles that can "afford" to pay them - at least in the short term.
What this means is that there may be some "new stuff" for Landmark but - if there is - it will be "at the expense" of content for EQ1 and / or EQ2. If there were going to be 3 DLCs for EQ1 and EQ2 in the next 12 months then there might be 2 for each and 2 for Lamndmark. That sort of thing.
Interesting article Bill. Its too bad that things turned out as they have, but its not unexpected, given that Titan was also cancelled. I very much suspect that the age of the MMO as we've come to see it, is drawing to a close.
Thats hardly surprising, taking into account the changes in both the audience and the economy we've seen. I suspect that Wildstar will be the next Bad News that we hear.
That my friends is the dethknell of Daybreak and possibly the previous two Everquest games. This will be the end of an era.
Actually, they started killing EQ when they nerfed headshot in 2012- before the sale. It's flopping around on the table like a dying fish and they don't care.
Comments
Certainly true in the beginning but we can be equally certain that it wasn't profitable in the final years of SoE (under Sony).
Now whether EQ1 and EQ2 are making enough money to cover their costs - no idea. We can be equally certain though that they are "more profitable" now that DBG is no longer spending money on "new" development (as opposed to EQ1/2 dlc).
So Landmark with its few hundred players is going to get its own dedicated development team?
The same game that just a few months ago Daybreak abandoned in order to focus on EQNext... which itself was just cancelled.
The nothing they have shown for EQN for nearly 2 years is now going to be added to Landmark?
Based on what Daybreak has said about what they have learned developing EQN is two things: 1) it was too expensive and 2) it wasn't fun.
Which of those two things does not apply to Landmark right now?
Ehmmm pretty much the entire old garde that was responsible for EQ and EQ2 are long gone.
That's why EQN was a joke to begin with and was doomed at the start.
I already expected cancelation the moment SOE became DBG.
That it took this long to cancel actually suprised me.
And they will have recognised that closing EQN will "diminish" "team EQ"; diminish as in make them less money. Hence why the closure of EQ Worlds was not mentioned - SpottyGekko is 100% correct in saying that it didn't fit the narrative. And this will also be why we got the "learned many things making EQN" comment. An attempt to create an image of a thriving, powerhouse of a brand rather than one that is simply chugging along with no "new future". (Any company worth its salt applies things it learns to other projects as soon as possible, it doesn't wait until it closes a project.)
They key to what lies ahead for Landmark is the announcement of Hayley "taking over". This could mean that Hayley is being put in charge of all the Landmark / ex-EQN people; the liklihood is that it simply means the EQ1 / EQ2 / EQ Worlds team(s) now also get to support Landmark. I could easily see zero people being added to the team(s). There might be a few new team members or maybe an off-set from closing EQ Worlds.
Remember: EQN is being cancelled because its not fun CN no longer wish to spend money on it. And you save money by laying-off the team / moving them onto titles that can "afford" to pay them - at least in the short term.
What this means is that there may be some "new stuff" for Landmark but - if there is - it will be "at the expense" of content for EQ1 and / or EQ2. If there were going to be 3 DLCs for EQ1 and EQ2 in the next 12 months then there might be 2 for each and 2 for Lamndmark. That sort of thing.
Thats hardly surprising, taking into account the changes in both the audience and the economy we've seen. I suspect that Wildstar will be the next Bad News that we hear.
Actually, they started killing EQ when they nerfed headshot in 2012- before the sale. It's flopping around on the table like a dying fish and they don't care.