Massively multiplayer online game leader Daybreak Game Company has put in place a new structure that will see three different studios working on separate franchises.
As a result of the Daybreak restructuring, the company will now be composed of three studios: Darkpaw Games, Dimensional Ink Games, and Rogue Planet Games. Heading up DC Universe Online and a currently unannounced MMO project will be Dimensional Ink Games. That team will be led by veteran MMO designer Jack Emmert. Meanwhile, Everquest will be led by executive producer Holly Longdale and Darkpaw Games. Finally, Rogue Planet Games will oversee both Planetside and H1Z1 properties and will be overseen by executive producer Andy Sites.
Daybreak Game Company, which was previously known as Sony Online Entertainment until 2015, has undergone significant restructuring over the past two years. There were multiple waves of layoffs that saw an estimated 70 employees lose their jobs at the company. A major investment from NantWorks came in 2018, with the intention of bringing Daybreak’s properties to mobile phones. The split into three official studios is the latest move and finalizes plans for the future for the company’s biggest franchises.
The latest release by the company came in the form of 2018’s Z1 Battle Royale (which was formerly called H1Z1 and King of the Kill), a free-to-play battle royale shooter for PlayStation 4 and PC set in the H1Z1 universe. Daybreak has also shut down two titles since then. Just Survive, the survival game component of H1Z1, had its servers close in October 2018, while PlanetSide Arena, a multiplayer shooter spin-off based upon the MMO, was shut down earlier this month.
