Tag: Daybreak

Daybreak Game Company Gets New Investor, Mobile Everquest Coming


Daybreak Game Company today has announced strategic investment by NantWorks, a holding company, and some developments have dripped out to the public regarding a mobile Everquest title as well as mobile H1Z1.

“In connection with the investment, NantWorks has obtained a controlling interest in a new joint venture with Daybreak, NantG Mobile, LLC, which has been formed to develop and publish mobile versions of Daybreak’s current games – H1Z1 and EverQuest – and to build and publish video games across all platforms. In addition, the JV will now assume control and management of the current PC H1Z1 Battle Royale game. Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, CEO and Chairman of NantWorks and Owner and Executive Chairman of the Los Angeles Times, will join Daybreak’s board of directors.”

“Daybreak’s well tested game engine currently running EverQuest and H1Z1, combined with the proprietary next generation mobile game engine which we will develop and launch in the joint venture, are platforms which will enable unprecedented scale and provide enjoyment to millions of simultaneous players,” said John Wiacek, NantG Mobile’s Head of Game Engine Development.

(Source: BusinessWire)

Just Defunct: Daybreak To Shut Down Early Access Just Survive


Daybreak Game Company has announced that Just Survive, formerly known as H1Z1, is to sunset on October 24 after three years of early access. In the announcement, Daybreak noted “we are no longer in a position to fulfill its greatness and the current population of the game makes it untenable to maintain.”

Just Survive was part of our first Early Access project, and we learned a great deal during its development. As with any open world game, the greatest stories came from our passionate players. From the incredibly skilled base builders to the free-ranging gangs, and all of the players named variations of “ImFriendly” and “PleaseDontShootMe”, we hope everyone had amazing adventures across Pleasant Valley and Badwater Canyon.

Originally launched into early access in January 2015, Just Survive released as H1Z1 before being split off into two products and renamed H1Z1: Just Survive and ultimately dropping the H1Z1 moniker altogether. All in-game purchases for Just Survive have been disabled.

In May, Daybreak thanked players for their continued support while laying out plans for the future of the title.

(Source: Daybreak)

H1Z1 Invites PS4 Players To Play A Game of Snipey Shotty


H1Z1 rolls out its latest update this week introducing players to the Arcade mode, limited time events that throw a wrench into the proverbial hornets nest and change the way you play. This week and next week sees the introduction of Shotties and Snipers which is exactly what it sounds like: The only weapons available are shotguns and snipers.

The future of H1Z1 includes new leaderboards for season 2, new weapons for all ranges, and new daily challenges.

(Source: Daybreak press release)

H1Z1 Launches On Playstation 4


The day is here: H1Z1 has finally launched as free to play on Playstation 4. Launch day brings with it a new content drop, introducing two new weapons (an RPG and a sniper rifle), a new vehicle (the five-man ARV) and new launch bundles as well. H1Z1 on Playstation 4 was built from the ground up for consoles, streamlining the interface, control scheme, and inventory for faster paced games that feel at home on the console’s controller.

“Everyone here at Daybreak Games is thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive response to H1Z1’s debut on PS4,” said H1Z1 Producer Terrence Yee. “Ten million new players in our first month in Open Beta is an incredible milestone, and our entire development team has worked tirelessly to build on that early success. We’re beyond excited to officially launch H1Z1 on PS4—this is our fully realized vision for battle royale on console.”

Today also marks the launch of the first season battle pass. Playstation gamers can unlock up to 30 rewards from three tiers (free, premium, PS+) for completing missions and leveling up. The battle pass sells for $5.49 USD.

(Source: H1Z1 Press Release)

 

Daybreak Game Company Wants Less Vehicles In H1Z1 Endgame


If you’ve been playing H1Z1 on Playstation 4, you’re probably well aware that the endgame mostly revolves around and relies on players obtaining vehicles, occasionally getting out of their cars to pop shots at one another until only one person is left alive. In a post on the H1Z1 subreddit titled “Wrangling the Car Rodeo,” Daybreak Game Company has posted its intention to diminish the valuable role that vehicles play in-game.

Now Daybreak has already enacted some measures to curb vehicle dependency, including the EMP grenade, air strike gun, and disabling collision with players, but the next update should do more to reduce the effectiveness of vehicles rather than simply implementing a counter to them. In addition to considering updates including a map-wide EMP that would disable all vehicles at a certain point presumably in the late stages, Daybreak will reduce the total gas by 50% and reduce damage resistance to all vehicles except for the ATV which already doesn’t prevent much damage.

(Source: Reddit)

H1Z1 Surpasses 10 Million Players On PS4


Daybreak Game Company this week is celebrating a new milestone as H1Z1 surpasses 10 million players on Playstation 4. In the game’s first month of open beta, over 102 million hours have been played with 167 million kills racked up.

Accompanying this news is another update to the title, introducing revive mechanics in group play, aim acceleration adjustments, as well as the new self-explanatory airstrike signal weapon. People who have already downloaded H1Z1 prior to Wednesday will receive a Darkfire Pickup Truck and Sunrise Parachute skin override that will be sent out this weekend.

(Source: Daybreak Press Release)

Daybreak Game Company Mourns Passing of Lead Animator David Carter


Daybreak Game Company had the unfortunate role of announcing to their community the passing of David Carter, lead animator on H1Z1. Carter’s presence in the industry spans over a quarter of a century, going all the way back to the original Unreal. The list of titles for which his contributions can be seen includes Unreal, Unreal Tournament, Borderlands, and more.

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Former Daybreak President John Smedley stated “David was amazing to work with. Always an optimist and a true pleasure to work with. He will be missed!”

(Source: Twitter)

Planetside 2 Rolls Out New Event System, Weapons, and More


Daybreak Game Company has released the latest update for Planetside 2, bringing forth continent-wide events and more. Continent events bring back the aerial anomaly event, tasking the three factions with controlling the most facilities of a certain type within a 30 minute timer, also making all aerial vehicles free to spawn during that time frame. Construction is seeing a change to make the attacking portion less frustrating while also reducing prices to build. Finally, new battle rifles available to all classes will be made available, one for each faction.

But wait, there’s more. In addition to the major changes noted above, Daybreak is also making some tweaks to the user interface and squads, as well as other fixes and balances. The entire list of changes can be found at the link below.

(Source: Daybreak)

H1Z1 Hits PS4 Open Beta On May 22


H1Z1 is coming to Playstation 4, and you’ll get the opportunity to shoot some guns and fight to the last man standing starting next month. Daybreak Game Company announced this week that H1Z1 is being built from the ground up for the Playstation system with a simplified loot and inventory system to keep the game flowing. In addition to fluidity changes, other alterations are coming to the console version including the removal of crafting as well as changes to the gas system, among others.

“H1Z1 on PS4 is true battle royale mayhem. We have reimagined the game for PlayStation 4 and have designed it to accentuate the essentials of battle royale that make the genre so exciting to watch and play,” said H1Z1 Producer Terrence Yee. “We have added key gameplay differentiators to keep the game frantic and fun — an action shooter’s dream of fast-paced battle royale.”

Daybreak’s plan is to have the game running at 60fps on the Playstation 4 Pro. Open beta for H1Z1 starts May 22.

(Source: Press Release)

Daybreak Clarifies Ownership…Three Years Later


Pop quiz: Who owns Daybreak Game Company? If you answered Columbus Nova, you are as wrong as every news outlet that reported on this three years ago, including MMO Fallout. You would be forgiven for this misunderstanding considering that the news was announced from Daybreak’s PR with the headline “Columbus Nova Acquires Sony Online Entertainment,” with the first sentence straight up saying that Columbus Nova had acquired the company.

Columbus Nova, an investment management firm based in New York, announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE), a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online (MMO) games and emergent gameplay.

And then there is John Smedley’s note in the announcement that they would be joining Columbus Nova’s roster of companies.

“We are excited to join Columbus Nova’s impressive roster of companies.”

Turns out that SOE was acquired not by Columbus Nova itself but by an executive at Columbus Nova, Jason Epstein, and the company had just never corrected the record.

“It was current executive chairman Jason Epstein, former senior managing partner of Columbus Nova that acquired Daybreak, not Columbus Nova itself. That distinction was never corrected in the past, so we are correcting that now.”

The reason this is relevant today of all days is because Columbus Nova has become embroiled in US sanctions on Russian oligarchs, specifically its owner Viktor Vekselberg. The distancing between the two companies has been raising a lot of eyebrows since both Daybreak and Jason Epstein himself have said on more than one occasion, and very explicitly, that Columbus Nova as an entity has purchased SOE.

(Source: MassivelyOP)