Sony Online Entertainment used to be on top of the world; pioneering the MMO, draining nerds dry with “Everquest”, and making lots of money while they were at it.
Now they mostly help Pop Cap program their games for the PlayStation Store. Sure, the very ambitious “Agency” was in the cards, but it was announced four years ago with barely a peep about it since.
Well, now we know why: Sony has shut down the Denver, Tucson and Seattle studios and laid off 205 employees across the three branches. The rest are being transferred to San Diego, where they’ll work on the new Everquest game and Planetside Next. “The Agency”, obviously, has been canceled.
Games that are already live are mostly maintained by the Austin studio and won’t be affected by the shutdown, so if you’re playing DC Universe or Everquest, you won’t notice anything different. Except possibly a new item called “Tears of the Unemployed” or “Dagger of Boss Excision.”
We wish the employees being laid off good luck and a quick rehiring somewhere else.
[ via PC Gamer ]