Sony Online Entertainment Acquired by Columbus Nova, Becomes Daybreak Game Company

Via a post on the official Sony Online Entertainment forums, the developers working at the studio announced that they have been acquired by investment firm Columbus Nova. As expected, now that it’s not part of Sony anymore, the studio has been renamed and became Daybreak Game Company.

This isn’t, of course, just a question of ownership and names. Daybreak Game Company will focus on multiplatform development, and develop not only for PC and PlayStation, but also Xbox and mobile platforms. Titles that were previously in development at Sony, like H1Z1, should not be affected by this move, according to the developers, who claim that these games will in fact potentially benefit from the additional resources available after the acquisition.

Here’s the full letter:

Dear Players, Partners and Friends,

Today, we are pleased to announce that we have been acquired by Columbus Nova, an investment management firm well known for its success with its existing portfolio of technology, media and entertainment focused companies. This means that effective immediately SOE will operate as an independent game development studio where we will continue to focus on creating exceptional online games for players around the world, and now as a multi-platform gaming company. Yes, that means PlayStation and Xbox, mobile and more!

As part of this transition, SOE will now become Daybreak Game Company. This name embodies who we are as an organization, and is a nod to the passion and dedication of our employees and players. It is also representative of our vision to approach each new day as an opportunity to move gaming forward.

So what exactly does this mean for you? It will be business as usual and all SOE games will continue on their current path of development and operation. In fact, we expect to have even more resources available to us as a result of this acquisition. It also means new exciting developments for our existing IP and games as we can now fully embrace the multi-platform world we are living in.

Our games and players are the heart and soul of our organization, and we are committed to maintaining our portfolio of online games and pushing the limits of where we can take online gaming together.

Thank you for your continued support. See you in game!