Earlier this week Enad Global 7 acquired yet another game studio, this time picking up Daybreak Game Company for $300m.
Daybreak Game Company is a specialist at running live MMO titles. The company was know as Sony Online Entertainment until 2015. Under that name it created Everquest, Planetside and Star Wars Galaxies.
Today Daybreak still develops and operates the successors to many of those games. Currently live titles include Everquest 2, DC Universe Online, and Planetside 2, as well as Z1 Battle Royale (previously H1Z1). The company itself acquired Cold Iron Studios earlier this year, which had been bounced around various publishers, and is working on an untitled Alien title.
In addition to all that, Daybreak is also the publisher of Dungeons and Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings online, both now developed by Boston-based Standing Stone Games. In total it had $77.6m in revenues and $29m in profits over the last 12 months, with access to 178m registered users for “marketing and reactivation.”
The latest acquisition comes soon after other purchases by EG7. It picked up Mechwarrior dev Piranha Games and mobile deve Big Blue Bubble.
Jason Epstein, executive chairman and majority shareholder of Daybreak commented: “On behalf of the Daybreak team, we are elated to be joining the EG7 family. The combined companies are strategically positioned to expand Daybreak’s unique and iconic portfolio of live games and will help amplify our passion for making great games for our communities. As a long-term shareholder and prospective Board member, I look forward to working closely with management to expand the company’s footprint by identifying opportunities that fit the successful growth plan executed by EG7 over the past few years.”
“I am thrilled to be welcoming Daybreak into the EG7 family today. Daybreak is a studio I have the utmost admiration for, not only for their games but the teams behind those games and services. Together we have bold and exciting plans for the future, and I look forward to making those dreams a reality for gamers all over the world,” added Robin Flodin, CEO and Co-founder of EG7
The moves further enlarge the EG7 group, which now consists of Toadman Studios, Petrol Advertising, Sold Out, Antimatter, and the various new studios. For an overview of the growing group we recommend you read our interview with Sold Out from earlier this year.