Daybreak cancels EverQuest Next

EverQuest Next is never going to see the light of day.

Developer Daybreak has said that it has ceased development of the title, which was announced back in 2013 when Daybreak was still called Sony Online Entertainment. Development was previously scrapped and started over in 2011, with the studio saying it wasn’t happy with the work it had done since 2009.

After much review and consideration, Daybreak is discontinuing development of EverQuest Next,” Daybreak president Russell Shanks said. When we decided to create the next chapter in the EverQuest journey, we didn’t aim low. We set out to make something revolutionary.

For those familiar with the internals of game development, you know that cancellations are a reality we must face from time to time. Inherent to the creative process are dreaming big, pushing hard and being brutally honest with where you land. In the case of EverQuest Next, we accomplished incredible feats that astonished industry insiders.

Unfortunately, as we put together the pieces, we found that it wasn’t fun.

We know you have high standards when it comes to Norrath and we do too. In final review, we had to face the fact that EverQuest Next would not meet the expectations we – and all of you – have for the worlds of Norrath.

The future of the EverQuest franchise as a whole is important to us here at Daybreak. EverQuest in all its forms is near and dear to our hearts. EverQuest and EverQuest II are going strong. Rest assured that our passion to grow the world of EverQuest remains undiminished.”

Daybreak’s Landmark project, which was to be the heart of EverQuest Next, is still due for a release this year.