Daybreak Cancel EverQuest Next

Daybreak have today dropped a bombshell for fans eagerly awaiting the next entry in the Everquest franchise, EverQuest Next. The game, which had been in development since at least 2013, has been canned as it just wasn’t good enough for the developer. They were keen to point out that this won’t be the end of the Everquest universe, just the end of that particular chapter as they weren’t confident they could produce a game of the quality they wanted.

“For the past 20 years EverQuest has been a labor of love. What started as a deep passion of ours, as game creators, grew into a much larger passion shared by you, millions of players and Daybreakers alike. Watching EverQuest’s ability to entertain and bring people together has inspired and humbled us. It’s shaped our culture and has emboldened us to take aggressive risks with our game ideas and products. 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.”

It’s not all bad news though. Alongside Next, Daybreak were also developing a world editor called Landmark. The cancellation of Next doesn’t halt the development of this additional title the scope of the project has increased greatly over time. It’s become a standalone world building game set in the Everquest universe. This means that if you are a fan of the series, there’s still a new title that you can look forward to playing this year when it releases in the Spring. Shortly after the first open letter, another arrived, detailing the plans for Landmark.

“As the community has grown and designs have flourished, we no longer view Landmark as just a building tool. We’ve been toiling away making Landmark into a wonder unto itself. While the look of our world was inspired by what was intended to be the voxel world of EverQuest Next, Landmark has evolved into its own game with its own unique identity and purpose.

The creativity of the Landmark community and the potential for telling stories in this digital world is beyond what we imagined. Our vision for Landmark is to provide a place where you can create ANYTHING, tell your own stories, and share your creativity with other players. We are wrapping up a HUGE game update for Landmark with LOTS of new additions and improvements, some of which you’ve already seen in sneak preview posts from Emily “Domino” Taylor on the forums. We are excited about what’s to come for Landmark and we can’t wait to see what you think.”