EverQuest

EverQuest
Cover art
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]
EngineTrue3D[4]
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows (1999–)
Mac OS X (2003–2013)
ReleaseMicrosoft 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.

  1. ^ "Everquest price drop". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on February 19, 2002. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  2. ^ "EverQuest: Fifteen Years in Norrath". Sony Online Entertainment. March 14, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  3. ^ "EverQuest Macintosh Edition Now Available for Mac Gamers" (Press release). Sony Corporation of America. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  4. ^ "Return to Krondor on PlayStation". Raymond E. Feist. January 16, 1999. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  5. ^ Trey Walker (May 1, 2002). "EverQuest II announced". GameSpot. Retrieved March 28, 2015. Sony Online Entertainment has announced EverQuest II, the upcoming sequel to its groundbreaking massively multiplayer online role-playing game EverQuest.
  6. ^ "Ubi Soft Entertainment UK". Ubisoft. Archived from the original on August 8, 2002. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  7. ^ Olivetti, Justin (October 18, 2013). "EverQuest Mac shutting down (again)". Engadget. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  8. ^ "Sony Online Entertainment Sold to Investment Firm Columbus Nova". February 2, 2015.
  9. ^ "Why We Still Play Everquest". USgamer.net. November 3, 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  10. ^ "Winners of 59th Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards Announced by National Television Academy at Consumer Electronics Show". The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS). Archived from the original on September 21, 2010. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  11. ^ "Everquest's 22nd expansion goes live tomorrow". PC Gamer. Retrieved July 21, 2018.


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