EverQuest | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Verant Interactive 989 Studios |
Publisher(s) | |
Producer(s) | Brad McQuaid |
Designer(s) | Steve Clover Brad McQuaid William Trost |
Programmer(s) | Steve Clover |
Artist(s) | Rosie Rappaport |
Composer(s) | Jay Barbeau[a] |
Engine | True3D[4] |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows (1999–) Mac OS X (2003–2013) |
Release | Microsoft Windows Mac OS X |
Genre(s) | Massively multiplayer online role-playing game |
Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
EverQuest is a 3D fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) originally developed by Verant Interactive and 989 Studios for Windows. It was released by Sony Online Entertainment in March 1999 in North America,[5] and by Ubisoft in Europe in April 2000.[6] A dedicated version for Mac OS X was released in June 2003, which operated for ten years before being shut down in November 2013.[7] In June 2000, Verant Interactive was absorbed into Sony Online Entertainment, who took over full development and publishing duties of the title. Later, in February 2015, SOE's parent corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment, sold the studio to investment company Columbus Nova[8] and it was rebranded as Daybreak Game Company, which continues to develop and publish EverQuest.
It was the first commercially successful MMORPG to employ a 3D game engine, and its success was on an unprecedented scale.[9] EverQuest has had a wide influence on subsequent releases within the market, and holds an important position in the history of massively multiplayer online games.
The game surpassed early subscription expectations and increased in popularity for many years after its release. It is now considered one of the greatest video games ever made. It has received numerous awards, including the 1999 GameSpot Game of the Year and a 2007 Technology & Engineering Emmy Award.[10] While dozens of similar games have come and gone over the years, EverQuest still endures as a viable commercial enterprise with new expansions still being released on a regular basis, over twenty years after its initial launch.[11] It has spawned a number of spin-off media, including books and video games, as well as a sequel, EverQuest II, which launched in 2004.
Sony Online Entertainment has announced EverQuest II, the upcoming sequel to its groundbreaking massively multiplayer online role-playing game EverQuest.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha>
tags or {{efn}}
templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
template or {{notelist}}
template (see the help page).