(AfroGamers.com) EverQuest is one of Sony’s longest-running franchises and pretty much the only one that has always been active. It’s an older MMORPG meaning it’s a truly living game. As long as enough of a player base exists, so will it. Currently, EverQuest (1999) and EverQuest II (2004) are still being played but the franchise also had one other game under the EQ banner. We’re going to look at two ways Daybreak Game Company could actually bring the franchise into the 2020s.
First, I’d like to mention I ran into some confusion about the actual ownership of EQ. Reports from the time of Sony selling Daybreak made it seem like the new owner of the studio—Enad Global 7—owns EverQuest. However, some of the phrasing makes it sound as though Daybreak is merely continuing the handling and development of the series.
I don’t know, that would kind of explain why EverQuest Next died a dog’s death while EQ fans sat around waiting on updates about development. Not so much Daybreak’s handling of the series but while being involved in a buyout and having several online games in rotation—is developing a whole new game really wise while making money from those active games?
While I wanted EQ Next to be completed and we should’ve been playing a modern EQ like five years ago, there was quite a bit going on at that time. With that said, here are some ways to bring the series out of the early 2000s without getting away from the core, fantasy MMORPG experience.
Just Make the Damn Game, Already
Listen, game development is a very involved process with many moving parts before actual work starts on the game itself—which includes more moving parts! But as I said, a third EQ game really should be experiencing its third to fifth anniversary by now. The game should’ve been finished but instead ended up scrapped. So now we just have the first two games that can only be played on PC.
Now, there was a good developmental reason why work stopped on it. The game as it was seemed to be pretty dated for an MMORPG in the 2010s. By that time, we had World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, Ragnorok Online, The Elder Scrolls Online, licensed MMORPGs for Star Wars, Star Trek, Dungeons & Dragons, Lord of the Rings, Phantasy Star Online, RuneScape, Albion, Final Fantasy XIV, and Black Desert heading up the Korean MMORPG invasion.
A new EQ would’ve probably had a hard time prying away fans from those series and who knows if the entire existing player base of the original EQ games would’ve come over. I mean, EQ II dropped, players gave it a whirl and most still preferred the first. Personally, I liked the second more but MMOs tend to hold their bases firmly until they’re left with the hardcore fans.
Yeah, it sounds simple as hell but…just make the game and send it.
Make EverQuest Available on Console
Gaming PCs have become somewhat more affordable now and the EQ games can be played on a lower-end rig because they’re older games. A new EQ probably won’t have that same accessibility and the EQ name doesn’t have the relevance to move folks to buy a new gaming PC. Mind you, even in the 2000s games like EQ and World of Warcraft weren’t relevant. WoW stuck around long enough and had the backing of Blizzard to where it became a popular game on Twitch in the early 2010s and on Justin.tv in the late 2000s.
The thing is WoW kept pushing and adapting to changes in consumer spending around gaming. It’s at the point where Blizzard can run ads for whatever update or return DLC they have planned. The same can’t be said for EQ. To draw in more fans, if Daybreak finally makes a new EverQuest, it might be wise to put it consoles as well since players will get a console as it’s ready for gaming out of the box and doesn’t require significant maintenance. It’s an accessible gaming device.
If the hypothetical new game is PC-only, then at least dust off EverQuest Online Adventures and put it in the PSN as free-to-play and have transactions. At the minimum, EQ should have a presence on PlayStation and at most it should be console in general—in 2024.
OK, No EQ on Console? Can We At Least Get Champions of Norrarh?
This is like the bare minimum. Champions of Norrath was a fun game on PlayStation2 and my introduction to action RPGs in the vein of Diablo—you know, ARPGs where the inventory has grids and your loot and gear has to get in where it fit in. Sure, we have modern Diablo, Path of Exile (goodness, that skill tree), and Last Epoch and I don’t see CoN being a competitor to those three but it could be revived as a live service game, sure.
I don’t even mean make a new game or anything, just update it to work as a live service game and update it regularly. Of course, there was only so much content in the game since it was on PS2, do Daybreak would be better off just making a new Champions of Norrath from scratch.
Who knows, maybe that’s an easier way to get to a return of any kind of EverQuest. I mean, the lore and gameplay is already there and players do rock with this kind of ARPG. They will buy the battle passes, season passes, and expansions. You just have to give them something that is flames.
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.