Based on some new job listings dug up on ResetEra, it seems Daybreak – the folks formerly known as Sony Online Entertainment – have some new games in the works that are set to be based on major existing franchises, and (possibly) another project that’s “all-new.”
Check out some more concrete upcoming PC games.
They want a combat designer with “action and MMO game development experience” to help “design and document multiplayer, RPG, action-based game systems.” An ideal candidate will “have previous experience developing massively multiplayer roleplaying games.” On top of that, they’re looking for a senior game designer with a “familiarity of core mechanics for FPS/TPS titles.” Presumably, this shooting-focused title would be distinct from the action-based MMO described in the other listing.
Other listings make repeated references to “a hugely popular IP,” “a popular old-class IP,” and “a popular world-class IP,” and at least one of these projects will be announced soon. There’s also a listing for an art director for an “all-new project,” which makes no reference to any existing IP. Almost all of the development and design listings make reference to the Unreal engine.
Based on all that, it seems there are three games here: an action-RPG MMO based on an existing property, a shooter based on an existing property, and something all-new that may not even have entered pre-production yet. Nothing is official until the games have actually been announced, of course.
But even an official announcement is no guarantee of success. Daybreak’s most recent project was an EverQuest revival that was ultimately cancelled, and a second try to revitalize the MMO that popularized the genre could certainly be underway. Daybreak are also still running PlanetSide 2, and another entry in that franchise could be the shooter mentioned here. We’ll at least find out what one of these things is soon.