Following Sony Online Entertainment’s recent separation from Sony and subsequent name change to Daybreak Game Company, Planetside 2 creative director Matthew Higby has announced he is stepping away from both the game and the studio.
In a post on Reddit’s Planetside subreddit, Higby announced his departure, saying, “Working on Planetside 2 has been the absolute highlight of my career, but after 4 years working on the game, it’s time for a change. Today [Friday] was my last day on the Planetside 2 team and at Daybreak games.”
This news comes not long after layoffs at the studio which affected, among others, longtime EverQuest producer David Georgeson. Higby, however, said he’s been contemplating a move for some time. “This is a move I’ve been considering for a while now, and the reorganization provided the right opportunity for me to exit,” he wrote.
“Planetside 2 is in great hands, with terrific people who honestly care about the game and the players. I can’t stress this enough, the folks working on every aspect of the game, developers, marketing, community are talented, hard working people who care more than you can imagine–I’m fully confident they’re going to do an amazing job on the next leg of the journey.”
Higby is not the only Planetside 2 developer that Daybreak lost this week; producer David Carey announced on Twitter this week that he was also leaving the studio.
As part of its layoff announcement, Daybreak claimed the “reductions will not affect the operation of current games.” Its stable of games includes titles like H1Z1, EverQuest Next, and DC Universe Online in addition to Planetside 2.
Planetside 2 was released for PC in 2012, and a PlayStation 4 version is currently in the works. A closed beta for the PS4 version began last month, and Daybreak has already stated its intent to develop games for non-PC and Sony platforms, including the Xbox One, although no specifics have been announced on that front so far.
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