Viewing Company : Daybreak Game Company


DC Universe Online for PlayStation 3 shuts down January 2018

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Speaking of year-end delistings, here’s the first of what I hope will be a small list for the remainder of 2017. Daybreak Game Company announced on October 30th that the PlayStation 3 version of DC Universe Online will be shut down on January 31st, 2018. The game remains available on Steam, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 and the post from the team explains:

“In order to deliver the highest quality experience to our players, we will focus our resources on further optimizing the game for PlayStation 4. While there is still time to continue exploring DCUO on the PS3, we want to give you advanced notice so you can prepare for these future changes.

All of your player information, subscriptions, DLC purchases, and game information transfer automatically to the PlayStation 4 when you log in with the same PSN account.”

January 2018 will mark seven years that the game was available on PlayStation 3. From its retail launch on disc in January of 2011 to its digital release in March and its pivot to free-to-play by year’s end, DCUO has survived quite a bit of marketplace upheaval. With DC in its best consumer position since the 80’s there may even be more years ahead of the game than behind it, just not on PlayStation 3.

The Watch List calendar has been updated and a page with the details on the PlayStation 3 version will be added soon.

Daybreak announces shutdown for Landmark on February 21st

Daybreak announces shutdown for Landmark on February 21st

Daybreak Game Company announced on Thursday that they will be shutting down Landmark, the sandbox MMO counterpart and successor to EverQuest Next, on February 21st, 2017.

“With heavy hearts, we are writing today to inform you that after much review, we have decided to close Landmark game servers on February 21, 2017,” reads the statement on the Landmark homepage. “Since Landmark first entered Alpha, we have been impressed by the creative talents in this community. You pushed the boundaries of what Landmark could do, and we are grateful for the time and energy you shared through your creations in this game.”

The game has been delisted from Steam and is no longer available to buy from the Landmark site but current players may continue logging in until the 21st. Players can no longer list items for sale and all existing items with a Daybreak Cash price will be reduced to 1 DBC. It’s a small consolation but players should be able to check out any items they’ve had their eye on with the new baseline price.

Along with the game, Daybreak will be shutting down Landmark’s forums and social media channels no later than 4:00pm PST on the 21st of February. A pre-emptive FAQ entry also rules out the possibility of fan-supported servers.

Peggle*
PLACEHOLDER
_blankbox		Digital Release:Digital release dates and platforms
Delisting:Exact or Approximate date of delisting
Developer:Developer
Publisher:Publisher
Available On:Anywhere it may still be available
Links:Live and archived links with relevant information
Discuss this title on the Delisted Games Forum
(this title will have its own forum soon)

PlanetSide 1 and Legends of Norrath Shutdown Announced

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On Friday June 17th, just after the close of this year’s E3 show, Daybreak Game Company announced two upcoming server shutdowns and subsequent delistings. The first is the original PlanetSide which will be shutting down on Friday, July 1st at 4:00 PM PST.

Daybreak has continued to support the original game for fans who couldn’t or didn’t want to make the switch to PlanetSide 2 while continuing to update and expand the sequel. However, Daybreak looks to once again be tightening its belt and explained the decision in a post on the PlanetSide 2 site.

“PlanetSide 1 has a very important history with Daybreak Games and a special place in the hearts of those who work on its successor. While we have run the game for free since 2014, due to evolving business needs and technical requirements it has become necessary to conclude this service.”

Daybreak also announced on June 17th that Legends of Norrath, the collectible card game counterpart to the EverQuest universe will be shutting down on Wednesday, August 17th at 12:00 PM PST. The decision seems to be in line with the PlanetSide 1 shutdown which Daybreak explained in a post on the game’s official site.

“Legends of Norrath has not had an active development team for quite some time and in the best interest of our company and players, we have made the difficult decision to close the servers.”

The game is playable through a standalone client or from within EverQuest and EverQuest II. Loot rewards from Norrath are transferable to EverQuest characters and Daybreak is giving fans until Monday, July 18th to buy booster packs and monthly All Access Memberships to stock up before the shutdown. More details on how Daybreak is handling loot from Norrath are available on the game’s site.

Now for some speculation. Are these shutdowns just standard housekeeping or is this a more desperate grasp for Daybreak to stay profitable? Daybreak Game Company was founded just over a year ago when Sony sold their Sony Online Entertainment studio to investment firm Columbus Nova. Just two weeks ago the company appointed Jack Emmert as the new CEO of the Austin-based studio and three months before that they cancelled development of EverQuest Next which had been in the works since 2009.

The companion to EverQuest Next, the MMO sandbox title Landmark remains in active development alongside DC Universe Online, H1Z1 and PlanetSide 2. Daybreak also operates around thirty additional servers to support EverQuest and EverQuest II. Will the reclaimed resources from PlanetSide 1 and Norrath help buy Daybreak some time to build a new EverQuest from scratch? With the split from Sony the studio has already seen twenty delistings of console titles and retired numerous other MMOs before that. If things turn worse for Daybreak there are several dozen other titles that would be delisted in the wake of a closure.

I’ve added dates for PlanetSide 1 and Legends of Norrath to the Watch List calendar and you can find more delisted games from Daybreak/Sony Online Entertainment here.