Well I was certain some change would come to the staff at Sony Online Entertainment after it got acquired by Columbus Nova early last week. As someone who follows the games they produce very closely, I can honestly say I wasn't expecting to see what I am seeing today. Changes in management are to be expected when a bigger company buys in and has capable managers they can plug in, but to see a few key influential leaders that really embody the spirit of the company get shifted around or ejected is very surprise.

As of right now it looks like our beloved SOELive Dwarf Brasse will no longer be operating at Daybreak in her current role.

Dave Georgeson, the Director of Development for the EverQuest franchise is also getting moved or ejected from his command seat.

If the parent company is willing to exchange or replace key leadership like this, who knows what they plan on doing with the rest of the team. It's very unfortunate news, and our condolences go out to the employees affected (who seemed to be doing a great job accomplishing the impossible with Landmark and EQNext). It's sad to see such dedicated innovation get a punch to the gut like this.

We will be monitoring this situation closely and keep you updated as we learn more official news. I'm not sure how Columbus Nova plans to replace a successful manager and game developer with the pedigree and resume of Smokejumper... but let's hope they've got a plan. There are any number of puns that can be taken with the name, but I'd ask people to refrain if possible - it's never funny to see people lose their jobs - even if it might be temporary.

UPDATE 11:34 Pacific - Catching an Article on Kotaku with an official statement from Daybreak Games on this sudden development change.

UPDATE 11:48 Pacific - Post by Brasse (Linda Carlson) on Facebook where she states her departure. This is a very sad day for EQ fans around the world.

UPDATE 11:50 Pacific - Here's the official forum post over at SOE (now Daybreak) of the staff changes (no real specifics provided).

UPDATE 11:53 Pacific - Aaron Bisnett announces his departure from the company via Facebook as well.

UPDATE 12:19 Pacific - Looks like Tiffany "Amnerys" Spence might be a part of the cuts as well...

UPDATE 12:31 - Mark Tuttle safe for now it seems, and is saddened to see so many coworkers and friends laid off.

UPDATE 1:02 - Assistant Producer for Landmark/EverQuest Next Eric "Felgon" Smith also included in cuts. The future for EverQuest Next continues to grow darker by the hour.

UPDATE 1:16 - Ouch. EverQuest Next development takes one of it's biggest hits so far (ranking right up there with the loss of Dave Georgeson): 

UPDATE 1:23 - Accoring to twitter statuses, Emily "Pentapod" and Steve Klug are confirmed as retained.

UPDATE 1:26 - Another Community Manager released with Kyle Manchester. 

UPDATES 2/12/2015 - Jeff Butler also confirmed gone. Also I wanted to share a former SOE/DB Dev insider reddit post that sheds a lot of light on the situation and should cause many people to rethink their opinions on Columbus Nova and the entire situation.

Additionally Terry Michaels, Landmark and EverQuest Next's lead producer has just released a statement on the official forums. I think it's worth posting here in it's entirety:

Hello Landmarkians!

          As most of you have heard by now, there have been some staff changes in the EverQuest Next and Landmark teams this week. While we've known that changes were coming for a little while now, we weren't able to discuss them until the details were finalized. I wanted to apologize for any anxiety this may have caused, but for the sake of everyone involved, it was simply the right way to handle it. While we don't have all of the details of how this is going to affect our schedules, timetables or the Blueprint yet, we wanted to make sure you know we're still here, we're still listening to all your great feedback and we're working to get you those answers just as soon as we can!

          EverQuest Next and Landmark are games that involve lots of *very* large plans, so please bear with us as we take the time to review and reorganize the schedules. As soon as we have something we feel comfortable with, we'll be updating the entire team - which still includes all of you, of course - with our new plans and with details about how things will be rolling out in the near future.

          We skipped Landmark Live this week, but we'll be back on Tuesday, Feb 17 at 10:00am PST to talk about the hotfix we'll be doing (hopefully) that afternoon and the following update information. Keep your eyes on the Landmark Live forum for any updates or changes.

          We'll also be doing the Workshop Show next week, so join us on Thursday, Feb 19 at 11:00am PST where Rosie and company will be talking more about Qeynos and a ton of the things players have been building in that particular style.

          Also, the entire team is thankful for all the warm thoughts and best wishes. The outpouring from the community has been amazing and is proof that we're not just a game company with a great community, we're a family.

(Note the cover image for this article is NOT the official game company's new logo. It is one I created as a fan-made thing, but I think it's really fitting right now, with the company seemingly beginning to fracture with the new dawn. Fitting, yes; but still very unpleasant and disheartening to hear.)