SOE becomes Daybreak Game Company

[Nadia]

https://forums.station.sony.com/soe/ind ... 500068269/

Dear Players, Partners and Friends,

Today, we are pleased to announce that we have been acquired by Columbus Nova, an investment management firm well known for its success with its existing portfolio of technology, media and entertainment focused companies. This means that effective immediately SOE will operate as an independent game development studio where we will continue to focus on creating exceptional online games for players around the world, and now as a multi-platform gaming company. Yes, that means PlayStation and Xbox, mobile and more!

As part of this transition, SOE will now become Daybreak Game Company.

This name embodies who we are as an organization, and is a nod to the passion and dedication of our employees and players. It is also representative of our vision to approach each new day as an opportunity to move gaming forward.

So what exactly does this mean for you? It will be business as usual and all SOE games will continue on their current path of development and operation. In fact, we expect to have even more resources available to us as a result of this acquisition. It also means new exciting developments for our existing IP and games as we can now fully embrace the multi-platform world we are living in.

Our games and players are the heart and soul of our organization, and we are committed to maintaining our portfolio of online games and pushing the limits of where we can take online gaming together.

Thank you for your continued support. See you in game!

http://www.polygon.com/2015/2/2/7963995 ... break-game

Columbus Nova Technology Partners' portfolio includes digital music service Rhapsody, video chat service Rabbit, online service marketplace Fiverr and more.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/20 ... e-company/

SOE president John Smedley will remain president at Daybreak.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102389749#.

Columbus Nova partners portofolio
http://www.cntp.com/

[Nadia]

https://twitter.com/j_smedley/status/562307057529810944
All of our games are still here and will continue to be :)

tweeted by Smed

answering a few questions people have emailed me
1) All our games are still up and will continue to be despite our new name.
2) Yes, we want to bring our games to Xbox One in addition to PS4.
3) Station Cash doesn't change at all (though we will be rebranding it soon here).
4) We're still making Everquest Next :) nothing has changed.

[Nadia]

Daybreak layoffs: David Georgeson and Linda Carlson
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/427435

https://forums.station.sony.com/soe/ind ... 500068779/

Dear Players, Partners & Friends,

Last week we announced that we were acquired and are now operating independently as
Daybreak Game Company. To better position our newly independent studio for future growth
opportunities and to deliver on our legacy of making top online games, we have had to make
some tough choices including realignment of resources.

Unfortunately, this realignment means adjusting staffing as well.

We announced today that we will eliminate positions in our San Diego and Austin studios.

We deeply value our employees and never take these decisions lightly so we’ve done our best to do what’s right for the people
affected. Although extremely difficult, these are necessary actions that will ultimately drive
improved results and help strengthen our company’s foundation for success. Many of us are
saying goodbye to close friends and colleagues who we’ve worked with over the years, and we
are grateful for the memories and all that they’ve contributed. They will be greatly missed, and
we wish them nothing but the best for the future.

These reductions will not affect the operation of our current games and as mentioned above, will
help better position our company for future success. As we move forward, we are committed to
delivering the best online games and working side-by-side with our players to drive the future of
our online games.

Thank you for your continued support,
The Daybreak Games Team

[Nadia]

http://eq2wire.com/2015/02/12/eq2-devel ... n-gnobrin/

who’s safe?
So far we’ve heard from Kander, TTobey, Gninja, Windstalker, Maevianiu, Caith, Covic, Phatkins, Bunji, and Kaitheel.

http://www.reddit.com/r/EQNext/comments ... on_thread/

The unofficial list thus far:

Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson (Director of Development for the EverQuest brand, @DaveGeorgeson)
Jeff Butler (Creative Director for the EverQuest brand, @JButlerDaybreak)
Linda “Brasse” Carlson (Community Manager, @Brasse)
Akil “Lyndro” Hooper (Everquest II developer, @akilh)
Aaron “Gnobrin” Bisnett (Weapon and Armor designer for 12 years, @Gnobrin)
Douglas “Endymion” VanDerveer (Everquest II game designer, @douglastweets)
Aimee “Ashlanne” Rekoske (Community Relations Project Manager, @Ashlanne)
Eric "Felgon" Smith (Associate Producer for EverQuest Next and Landmark, @F4Felgon)
Steve "Moorgard" Danuser (Lead Content Designer and Head of Story, @Moorgard)
Tiffany "Amnerys" Spence (Social Media, @JustTiffy)
Kyle "Hats" Manchester (Community Manager, @Hats)
Racheal "Afista" McKenny ( Everquest II community Manager, @Afista)
Noah Watkins (Graphic designer, @noahwatkins)
Kelduum Revaan (Programmer for H1Z1, @Kelduum)
Katharine Anderson (Build master for PlanetSide 2, @katharinelilly)
Xander Clauss (Base designer for PlanetSide 2, @XanderClauss)
Taylor Dowell (Systems designer for PlanetSide 2, @Tayradactyl)
David Carey (Systems designer for PlanetSide 2, @dcarey7761)
Aimee "Ashlanne" Rekoske (Community Relations Project Manager, @Ashlanne)

Possibly all contracted employees - Not confirmed

source1
http://eq2wire.com/2015/02/11/eq2-devel ... n-gnobrin/
source2
http://www.mmobomb.com/news/daybreak-re ... a-carlson/
source3
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/124 ... xt/page159

Confirmed safe:
Josh Augistine (Game designer EQN/LM, @jaugistine)
Justin "Mourde" Dazet (Designer EQN/LM, @justindazet)
Ken Murfitt (Developer EQN, @scopesofter)
Ben Burnett (Senior Programmer EQN/LM, @RtugokDaybreak)
Steve Klug (Technical Director, @StevenKlug)
Emily "Domino" Taylor (Producer for Producer, @pentapod)
Colette Murphy (Content/Social Media Manager, @ThatColette)
Kander, TTobey, Gninja, Windstalker, Covic, Phatkins and Kaitheel.

[Nadia]

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/mar ... nova-game/

The company filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) document with the California Employment Development Department that revealed 140 workers were let go in San Diego, with the effective termination date April 13.

Daybreak Spokeswoman Michele Cagle declined to say how many workers remain at the San Diego location, but added the company still has a significant workforce in the city. When asked how many workers were let go in Austin, Cagle declined to comment.

According to the company, the job cuts will not impact its current games, though it is unclear whether the schedule of new releases or updates has been pushed back.