Sony (Photo : Reuters)
Sony Online Entertainment, the studio behind such games as EverQuest and DC Universe Online, announced on Feb. 2, Monday, that they are no longer a part of Sony.
After having spent nearly two decades as a division of the Sony Corporation, the studio was sold to Columbus Nova, an investment firm based in New York. It will now begin to operate as an independent developer.
As part of Sony, the studio made games for Playstation and computers, but not for rival consoles.
Following the announcement, John Smedley, who will be keeping his seat as the company's President, tweeted: "can't wait to make Xbox One games!"
As part of its new independence, Sony Online Entertainment will be renamed Daybreak Game Company LLC. Despite the name change, the company assured its customers through a press release on its online forums that Daybreak will "continue to focus on creating exceptional online games for players around the world, and now as a multi-platform gaming company."
Sony Online started off as an internal studio back in the mid-90's and was the force behind the creation of "EverQuest," one of the world's most popular MMORPGs. Released in 1999, EverQuest became so addictive that players dubbed it "EverCrack". The studio still has plans to release the latest version of the game "EverQuest Next."
SOE also played a part in the development of "Star Wars Galaxies," "The Matrix Online," as well as the ongoing "Planetside." It has also recently launched the open-world zombie game "H1Z1" on Steam.
