EverQuest developer states its ‘realignment’ led to multiple employee redundancies

Daybreak Games, developer and publisher of the EverQuest games, released a statement in which it announced that multiple employees have been laid off following a company ‘realignment.’ (via Gamasutra).

Last week, a couple of Daybreak Games developers shared on Twitter that they had been dismissed and Reddit threads inferred that the Planetside 2 and Planetside Arena teams had bore the brunt of the redundancies. Daybreak Games was originally known as Sony Online Entertainment before it was acquired by Inception Acquisitions, LLC. The studio was then able to create multi platform games like Z1 Battle Royale and PlanetSide Arena.

In December 2018, Daybreak Games had let go 70 of its employees in the second wave of redundancies of that year. That was estimated to have been approximately a third of its workforce, and the dismissals were due to financial issues that continued to stress the company. The statement from Daybreak Games supplied to Gamasutra explained that it is supporting those impacted by the redundancies. 

Ugh, hate seeing a lot of my friends get laid off today from yet another round of Daybreak layoffs. I feel for all of you and hope you all land on your feet. When the time comes please come work in blockchain games with me!

— Arcle er (@Arclegger) October 12, 2019

‘We are taking steps to improve our business and to support our long-term vision for the existing franchises and development of new games,’ it said. ‘This will include a realignment of the company into separate franchise teams, which will allow us to highlight their expertise, better showcase the games they work on, and ultimately provide tailored experiences for our players.’

Daybreak Games expressed its gratitude for its developers and that it will be looking after those affected. ‘Unfortunately, some employees were impacted by this effort, and we’re doing what we can to support them during this challenging time,’ the statement concluded.