In 2020, something remarkable happened to the EverQuest franchise: it was purchased by Enad Global 7. EG7 is a very serious company that is taking an active interest in the video games that it owns. Having a company that is passionate about their video games is very good news for players who still play EverQuest and EverQuest 2. These fans are the extremely loyal and they’ve been patiently waiting for a updated version of EverQuest to compete on the world stage.
Perhaps the best way to describe EG7 and their scope is a quote from their website:
EG7 is a global gaming cooperative comprised of established companies from around the world that specialize in video game entertainment such as Daybreak Games, Piranha Games, Antimatter Games, Toadman Studios, Petrol, Sold Out and Big Blue Bubble. Our mission is to provide a full platform of services through our network of specialized verticals to work collaboratively to create and bring to market video game entertainment.
Back in 2015, the EverQuest franchise was sold by Sony Online Entertainment to a holding company called Columbus Nova. Since they acquired the EQ franchise, the general consensus among critics and fans is that they have been treading water and milking the franchise without investing appropriate amounts of money back into each of their EverQuest MMOPRGs.
During a recent live investor video presentation on YouTube, EG7’s CEO Robin Flodin revealed that the EverQuest franchise has earned $1 billion since it’s inception in 1999. For Daybreak Games, EQ and EQ2 were always fat cash cows to be milked. This shocking revelation dispels the oft told myth from various SEO and Daybreak developers that graphic updates to EverQuest were “far too costly” to implement. Hogwash.
A Tale of Two MMO Studios
Both Sony Online Entertainment and Daybreak Games squandered the massive potential of the EQ franchise over a period of many years. This was the mainly the result of poor leadership under John Smedley. For years, SOE tried to create a combined successor to EQ and EQ2. This new EQ was going to be called EverQuest 3 and/or EverQuest Next. Every attempt to create a new version of EverQuest with modern technology, graphics and state of the art features was met with failure.
The problem with Daybreak Games is that failed to exploit and leverage the vast potential of the EQ franchise and let it languish. One only has to compare Daybreak Games to Blizzard Entertainment who created a flagship MMORPG in World of Warcraft which was inspired by EverQuest and designed by hardcore EverQuest players to see radically different results. Blizzard turned their MMO into a global cultural phenomenon, while SOE and Daybreak failed to propel the EverQuest franchise to the glorious future it deserved.
EG7 CEO Robin Flodin sees the true potential of the EverQuest franchise as Daybreak Games is prominently featured whenever he speaks and in all the company’s literature. EG7 sees the monetization potential of creating millions of fanatically loyal players who pay each money month to be a part of a fantasy virtual world community.
EG7 Announces a New MMO is in the Works
So let’s cut to the chase with the huge announcement made by Robin Flodin in the video:
And in the new titles segment, we also want to say, we have a new MMO in the works. A triple A MMO and one of the greatest brands in the world.
Could the New MMO be EverQuest 3?
The big clue here is “one of the greatest brands in the world.” Greatness is a title that usually conferred over a period of years and with time allowed for cultural reflection and evaluation by posterity and historians. You can’t become great in a few years. Some of Daybreak’s newer titles don’t really qualify but EverQuest meets this high bar.
You can also be great but not successful. EverQuest is more known for its greatness for popularizing the entire 3D fantasy MMORPG genre which in turn birthed the massive World of Warcraft than its financial success. But now that we know the EQ franchise has made $1 billion, it certainly qualifies as being a success.
Could the New MMO be Lord of the Rings Online 2?
Another great brand that easily qualifies for greatness is J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved Lord of the Rings situated in the deep fantasy realm of Middle-earth.
It is a real possibility now that Amazon Games has cancelled their upcoming Lord of the Rings MMORPG, EG7 is going to use their current Lord of the Rings Online MMORPG license and pivot to creating a completely new MMO. The Lord of the Rings Online never fully capitalized on the storied franchise and was a generally seen as disappointment compared to WoW’s gargantuan success.
In a previous presentation, EG7 revealed that the aging LOTRO MMO will be receiving a major graphical update to capitalize on the new $500+ Amazon TV series. Perhaps they will scrap that update and fill the vacuum created by Amazon’s cancellation and focus on making entirely new Lord of the Rings MMO instead.
One reason that it may not be a new EverQuest is that many of Daybreak/Darkpaw’s top talent has left the company and joined Blizzard. If a new next generation EQ MMO was in the works, I seriously doubt they would have left the San Diego Daybreak studio and missed out on a chance to forge a new EverQuest.
On the other hand, it’s quite possible that a new EverQuest MMO will not be produced by Daybreak/Darkpaw and may be done in their Austin studios or by a completely different studio. If this is true, I think this is a good idea. I think it’s high time for new blood to create a new version of EverQuest and Lord of the Rings.
I may be wrong and the new EG7 MMO may not even be a fantasy genre and that would rule out both a new version of EverQuest and a new version Lord of the Rings.
In a series of previous articles, I speculated that a new EverQuest was planned a few years ago but was somehow scrapped. This new information gives me a lot of hope. I haven’t been this excited about the future of EverQuest in many years.
Conclusion
Either way, long suffering fantasy MMORPG fans who have grown disenchanted with easy mode woke MMOs like WoW, have reason to rejoice and keep hoping for an announcement of staggering import in the next year from EG7. Whatever the outcome, loyal EverQuest fans should be happy that in Robin Flodin, they finally have a CEO that is not an absentee owner but is one who is actively involved in the video games that they produce. Stay tuned for more exciting news in the coming months from EG7!
