Landmark, Another One Bites The Dust

Earlier this evening I received an email and noticed with a quick glance my phone showed it was from Daybreak Games, titled Important Information Regarding Landmark. My first thought was correct, shutdown. I figured this was the case, as the development has really been slow and it seems most of the attention to the game died when EQNext was canned. Not really surprised but still sad. At this point I am also a bit annoyed, what's next on the chopping block?


Not to kick a dog when it is down, but as a player, these days I wonder what is next to go from the DBG lineup. I loved Vanguard, which was sunset in 2014. I still miss that game. I also bought a lifetime subscription to Free Realms, which was a sweet casual game and also sunset in 2014. Talk about a bad year. Dragon's Prophet I liked, never knew why they took this game under their wing because it just seemed to struggle like an orphan with the company. It was also sunset the following year in 2015. I have read there is a publisher running it in the EU, so there is still that. There have been several more but those are just the ones I favored. Oh and don't forget Legends of Norrath.

If you really want a full list you can look here, which really was a bit surprising when I remembered a lot of these games.Granted that some of these were IP rights issues, like SWG, and others went down when the company was under the name SOE. I have been with this company as a player, a customer since it was Verant Interactive, later Sony Online Entertainment and now Daybreak games. It concerns me, while it is an old company that has changed hands and people over the years, I am starting to get a little concerned.

DBG is now going to publish LoTRO and DDO but Asheron's Call being shut down in the process of this transition. Not saying this has to do with DBG but it is indirectly it would seem. That's a really old game, seventeen years. There is GoFundMe currently for AC resurrection by players. I really feel for them. I also sort of wonder the future of all these titles.

I am never happy to see a game sunset, to see a company struggle, to see people lose jobs and see players lose a community, a game world they love. So this always pains me to hear, it is always bad news. Even before these announcements I have had some concern with DBG games I have been active with on a more regular basis. When I have concerns about these things it stems from worry of the direction things are going; How it will affect longevity and player retention. I'm a simple blogger writing concerns in my little corner of the world because these games are my passion, my hobby. It is what I do. But how many people that don't write, don't post on the forums, or do not share concerns, how many of those silently walk away?

At this point I don't have high hopes. I think EQ and EQ2 will be the last ones standing. I think LoTRO will be competition for these games, just as Vanguard was, the ignored orphan of a game it became. I cannot help my reservations I feel with this partnership. I do wish it well, but reality is what it is.

Back to the present, with Landmark. I think this game had so much potential. I had hoped that EQN would be a real thing, instead we were left with a skeleton of a game that felt not even half finished. Just really sad to see all this work go down the drain like so many others. The game has not even officially been launched for a year. Truly sad to see all that wasted potential.

I feel a cold shoulder from developers in the direction my games have taken, the ongoing lack of real communication, and when there is any on the forums it seems so disjointed and hostile. The December producer's letter... Could you even call it that? I can't go on because I have already said most of this and sound like a broken record at this point.

R.I.P. Landmark.

Video below from EQOAnostalgia.