For almost 20 years, I have been writing articles about MMORPG design. There is one particular intellectual property that I’m very much interested in: EverQuest. Released in 1999, EQ was one of the first 3D persistent massively multiplayer fantasy role-playing games to become popular.
Once upon a time, the initial success of EverQuest was like a fairy tale. But life is not a fairy tale and soon EQ was dethroned. Since then, the EQ franchise has not lived happily ever after. Today, it barely clings to life like a homeless drug addict on the streets of San Francisco.
Blizzard’s mega-successful World of Warcraft was based on EverQuest. But WoW left EQ in the dust with a tour de force of carefully crafted innovation, artistry, and polish. EverQuest could have been a billion-dollar-plus franchise like World of Warcraft if it was managed properly. Today EverQuest has become an almost forgotten footnote in video game history.
Two decades later we have the unfortunate situation where EQ somehow clings to life. Enad Global 7 is a Swedish holding company that owns Daybreak Games which owns Darkpaw Games and currently produces EverQuest. The EQ franchise has not released a new product since EverQuest 2 which was released in 2004 — the same year as WoW. Sadly, EQ2 flopped and did not live up to expectations. In 2013, Sony Online Entertainment announced a new version of EverQuest called EverQuest: Next. It didn’t even get a chance to flop. It was preemptively canceled by Daybreak Games because it wasn’t “fun.”
EverQuest players are generally distrustful of investment bankers like Enad Global 7. Many see them as vulture capitalists who put profits before player satisfaction. Enad Global 7 has a bad reputation for purchasing distressed video game studios and squeezing their loyal players for as much money as possible.
In the past few years, we have learned that the current owners of EQ IP, Enad Global 7 have plans to create a new EverQuest game. Over the years I have found many clues about what a new Norrath could look like.
However, there is one big question:
Does Enad Global 7 have what it takes to create a new EverQuest?
Although I am hopeful that a new EQ is on the horizon, I am nonetheless skeptical. Under the leadership of the reclusive Ji Ham Daybreak and Enad Global 7 have not impressed me. So far, they have been terrible stewards of the EverQuest franchise.
Enad Global 7 have not created one new video game from concept to finish. They have no track record to speak of. Even more concerning is that they are allowing a third-rate studio like Darkpaw Games to be involved in a new EverQuest.
Darkpaw Games is a studio headed by an incompetent, insular, woke, buffoon. The stodgy development team of walking cadavers mirrors their diminutive leader, all are equally inept and lack the passion and credibility to be involved in any future version of EverQuest. I would rather put Dracula in charge of the blood bank than have the current dev team be involved in a new iteration of EQ.
The fact that Ji Ham tolerates and enables Darkpaw Games is proof that he has no clue about EverQuest. But don’t take my word for it. Take the word of ChatGPT.
ChatGPT’s Analysis of Enad Global 7
Here’s the question I asked Chat GPT-4:
Give me an honest “man on the street” no-holds-barred investigative appraisal of a company like Enad Global 7 and how they behave and how they treat the gamers that play their video games especially EverQuest.
Here’s their response:
Enad Global 7 (EG7), like many video game holding companies, operates at the intersection of financial interests, corporate strategy, and gamer engagement. Here’s a no-holds-barred take on its behavior, particularly concerning EverQuest and its community:
Corporate Strategy and Behavior
- Profit-Centric Model: EG7, like most holding companies, prioritizes profitability. Acquisitions, like Daybreak Games, are primarily financial decisions. The focus often leans toward milking legacy franchises rather than investing heavily in innovation or long-term growth. EverQuest, a beloved MMORPG, frequently feels like it’s treated more as a cash cow than a crown jewel.
- Minimal Investment in Legacy IPs: Players often perceive that EG7 underinvests in development and innovation for games like EverQuest. Updates and expansions, while appreciated, can feel recycled or lacking the groundbreaking effort seen in modern MMOs. The company may favor minimal viable investment strategies—delivering just enough to keep the lights on and player engagement steady.
- Disconnect with the Community: Despite owning legacy titles with strong fan bases, EG7 sometimes appears out of touch with its player communities. Decision-making often feels reactive rather than proactive, and there’s a perception that player feedback is acknowledged superficially but rarely acted upon meaningfully.
- Transparency Issues: Corporate communications from EG7 and Daybreak Games can come off as opaque or overly corporate. Gamers frequently express frustration with unclear roadmaps, unexplained delays, or decisions that seem driven by monetization rather than enhancing player experience.
Treatment of Gamers – With a Focus on EverQuest
- Introduction: The game, now in its 26th year, is still loved by many, but the 2025 Product Roadmap has been met with skepticism. Players describe it as “performative and sparse,” suggesting that Darkpaw’s plans lack the ambition or scope expected from such a historic title. The roadmap includes standard updates, event unlocks, and a new expansion, but lacks bold initiatives or significant changes that could revitalize interest or address long-standing community concerns.
- General Sentiment: There’s a widespread feeling that the updates to EverQuest do not match the game’s legacy or the community’s expectations. The emphasis seems to be on maintaining the status quo rather than innovating or expanding the game’s universe in meaningful ways.
- Unambitious Offerings: The meagre offerings on the latest Product Roadmap are critiqued for not pushing boundaries. Players have expressed desires for more innovative content, better integration of player suggestions, or even larger-scale events that could rekindle the community’s passion for the game. The potential server merge mentioned in the roadmap is one of the few points of significant change, but even this is met with mixed feelings due to the lack of detailed communication on how it will benefit the community.
- Monetization Practices: While not directly criticized, the overarching business strategy of EG7 suggests a push towards monetization models that ensure profitability, which can sometimes be at odds with player expectations for game balance or fairness in free-to-play models.
- Lack of Communication: The EverQuest community has expressed significant frustration over what they perceive as a lack of engagement from Darkpaw Games, the studio responsible for the game. On the official forums, players often voice feelings of alienation, pointing out that developers seem less involved in community discussions or responsive to player feedback. This communication gap has led to a sense of marginalization among long-time fans who feel their input is not valued or heard.
- Community Engagement: The disconnect between Darkpaw and its players has only deepened with what many see as a retreat into less direct communication channels. Instead of engaging in forums or in community events, there’s a sense that interaction has become more about announcements than dialogue.
Conclusion: From the viewpoint of many long-time EverQuest players, EG7 through Darkpaw Games appears more focused on maintaining financial stability than on fostering a vibrant, engaged community. The 2025 Product Roadmap for EverQuest is seen by many as a checklist of maintenance rather than a visionary plan for the future of this landmark MMO. The community’s alienation stems from a perceived lack of ambition in game development and, more critically, from a lack of meaningful engagement with those who have kept the game alive for over two decades.
This situation paints a picture of a company at a crossroads, needing to balance fiscal responsibility with the passion and loyalty of its player base. Whether EG7 can shift its strategy to re-engage its community, particularly for games like EverQuest, remains a pivotal question for its future in the gaming industry.
Final Thoughts
ChatGPT paints a very unflattering picture of Enad Global 7, Daybreak Games, Darkpaw Games, and the future of the entire EverQuest franchise. For exasperated EQ fans, all of this comes as no surprise.
Enad Global 7 is not a visionary company. They are risk-averse peddlers of slop and mediocrity. They are a merry band of vulture capitalists who despise the loyal gamers who pay their salaries. They are weak men without chests who lack the ambition and creativity to make their mark on the video game landscape. They are like caretakers in a hospice waiting for their golden goose to breathe its last breath.
The buck stops with Ji Ham. Everything that is going on with the EverQuest franchise is his responsibility. Only he has the authority to effect change.
The best thing EG7 could do right now is to end the suffering of the EQ community and sell the franchise to a video game company that cares.
–Wolfshead
It is marvelous how good AI is at summarizing facts. I mostly use Grok-2 via X, the next iteration is coming soon.
I let it summarize the key theories presented in some books I read, like “The Righteous Mind” by Jonathan Haidt, “The Parasitic Mind” and the “Consuming Instinct” by Gad Saad, and the summaries were not just impressive, they were perfect.
Points 2 and 3 are the dealbreakers. The minimal investment in legacy IPs and the disconnect with the community. I would like to add another point that was mentioned, they just never developed a game themselves, they hopped on the carrion of great IPs like Vultures and keep on sucking the last drops of blood out of them.
As long as Enad Global 7 owns Everquest, there won’t be a new EverQuest, one should even hope they don’t even try.
But while EQ seems to suffer an unworthy end, the spirit behind EverQuest and WoW still does exist. Wokeness is getting snuffed out, some larger companies will still likely take years to turn around.
Maybe it will take 10-15 more years. And hopefully we are still around and eager to play games. It takes a fresh new mindset, no longer hand holding and inclusivity as highest value, but challenge and wonder that makes people want to band together and explore naturally.
We played MMOs in a magical era. All things fell together nicely. This will happen again. It will just take a while, and the NEW Everquest unfortunately is extremely unlikely to be a successor, but will continue what made EverQuest and WoW so dear to many players.
For gaming as a whole it would be best if so called “Swedish” “gaming” companies that are full of Chinese investors just go away. They try to find their way in the West. That worked nicely with Wukong, but usually mentality and games are just too alien for westerners to be successful.
I think EQ’s problems began long before Darkpaw or EG7’s appearance on the scene. It was back when SOE held the reigns.
SWG was a game that was another example of the collateral damage caused by SOE. The game, as per tradition with live service games, was ruined beyond recognition and subsequently shut down.
While I haven’t played SWG back its heyday, I did play it in 2019 on the Legends private server and I enjoyed it with no nostalgia goggles on. I also researched a lot on the history of the game and how the people in suits up top were the sole reason why the game was released in its unfinished state – with the surface of planets being almost barren, save for some settlements (hubs) or why baseline functions like jumping are purely cosmetic and how elevation in the game means jack squat as you can climb the steepest mountains with no issue, in fact at crazy speeds, solely because the game while being 3D has physics (or lack thereof) based on a 2D plane instead.
Another game that I’m beginning to gain confidence it got worse due to EG7 and Daybreak is LOTRO. I also started playing that one too late – in 2021. When I heard the news that EG7 is buying LOTRO, I was blinded by fanboyism, believing that the will actually dispense enough funds for it so all of its issues will eventually be sorted. Four years later, none of this has happened, in fact the game is in a worse state than it has ever been. If I could travel back in time and have this conversation with my old self, it will be interesting how my old self will react to this. LOTRO was made woke and the moderation made sure they censor every complaint, even if it meant driving of veteran Premium players, such as myself, off the game. Which is how I found the first LOTRO private server – Echoes of Angmar, which just held a brief stress test about a week ago and is gearing up for official launch VERY soon. Another aspect of how LOTRO has been made worse is very telling – the expansions they have released under EG7 have been very disappointing, lacking in content, causing bugs and issues, overall, the feeling that the game gives off is that of something that treats its players/customers with disdain, yet demands from them more money and support, all poorly hidden under a guise of “humble” developers, who sometimes do livestreams, but really can’t keep up the facade of being “humble” and even when live, end up showing off their immense arrogance and disregard for their players.
While I haven’t played EQ or EQ2 other than trying them out like every MMORPG, I’ve played EQ2 a bit more and I gave up after about a week, because the gameplay felt too convoluted and overcomplicated with my character acquiring over 15 active abilities by reaching level 18 and me realizing I’m actually required to involve all of them in my rotation while fighting a regular mob and combat took so long, almost 40-60 seconds to take down a single mob. Which made me realize, I can’t waste my time with this game.
I have tried EQ on the official server and the P99 private server and the game is too outdated for me to get used to its mechanics, but what bugs me the most is they are doing the same thing Microsoft-Activision are doing with Retail WoW. They release new content and it looks “modern”, but the old content still looks “old” and they aren’t making enough effort in updating the old assets. You can still find yourself in places on Azeroth, more specifically, The Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor where your character, with all its “modern” texture resolutions and polygon counts an bump mapping can stand side-by-side with some old piece of asset, like a tree or a rock or some contraption that is from the 2004 era and hasn’t seen any update. It looks out-of-place and immersion-breaking. If they are this multi-billion dollar company that “allegedly” still runs “the best and most popular MMORPG ever”, how come they can’t dedicate some resources to updating those old assets? What’s worse is they are developing content and changing the game in such a way, that it effectively encourages players to spend all of their time in the new locations of the game, there is even a new tutorial island so players don’t have to see the “ugliness” of the old starting zones.
EQ is doing the exact same thing – their newest expansions have assets that look on par with Vanilla WoW or even better – WoTLK/CATA era, yet the old content still sports the same old assets. Character models still look very outdated, they don’t even have diagonal move animations – they keep moving forward, except the trajectory is diagonal. It looks really uncanny and immersion-breaking.
So with all that in mind, I can only agree that those who run the show have absolutely caused more harm than good to those games.
Recently, I reminisced a bit about all the MMORPGs and other live service games that I enjoyed playing for years and then were ruined or ruined and shut down. And I started asking myself “why does every live service game ends up following the same pattern and why almost all of those games have private servers that are very popular and in most cases – better than the retail experience?”
How come there isn’t a single MMORPG or other live service game that has actually gotten better with time? How come that hoping the game stagnates and remains the same sounds like the better path than the game being “improved”? What a sad state of reality is this?
@AnonEntity,
I agree with you that we had the chance to experience MMORPGs and other live service games in their golden era. I remember around 2009-2011, I felt like there was this overabundance of live service games I could play – MMORPGs with different theme – fantasy, sci-fi, modern day, Online FPS games, also with different thematic – modern day, futuristic, sci-fi, past world wars, something entirely different. I lost count how many cheesy Asian games I played at the time, most are shut down and don’t even have private servers and I still think about how I should have played them a bit more back then when I still had the chance, now I have the patience and will to go through their shortcomings, but they are no longer around.
But I don’t agree with you about the Chinese influence, that one is actually good. They are taking no woke BS, their games are normal, might not be for everyone, but that doesn’t make them bad, the games that have character customization have Male/Female instead of the popular woke brain rot trend of Body Type 1/Body Type 2, so I’d rather encourage more people to try out some Chinese games on Steam that have English translation. Some are about The War of the Three Kingdoms, some are about Sun Wukong, others are about the Jianghu/Wuxia/Cultivation stuff, there is a lot of mythology and history in those games and they are a country with more than a thousand years history, which is pretty interesting and should not be discarded. One thing about Chinese games is they give off a very nationalistic feeling – they are really proud of their heritage and want to share it with everyone and I appreciate that while not being Chinese or anything close or affiliated with that. Nobody in my life told me to like Chinese entertainment media, I discovered it on my own and it grew on me naturally. I don’t like everything and I don’t care about it that much, but I can’t twist my soul and lie that it’s not pretty awesome.
There are things I don’t agree with about China, such as their government oppressing Chinese Christians from practicing their faith, for example, but that’s beside the point.