UPDATE: @MSandersonD, it appears that SONY -- yeah that one -- still owns 10%. Can this be the legal loophole DGC needs to stay out of the oligarch's asset freeze? Check out all the legal documentation and tax records to see what he is speaking about:
https://twitter.com/MSandersonD/status/989219740802568192
Daybreak Game Company may be in trouble thanks to US sanctions against Russian "oligarch" Viktor Vekselberg who owns Columbus Nova long thought to be the owner of DGC. Going back to 2015 and the demise of Sony Online Entertainment, a press announcement revealed Columbus Nova as the new owner, but in a weird twist of events, that press release has been deleted and wiki pages for DGC have been scrubbed. Massively even received a statement yesterday denying CN's ownership at any time.
Daybreak Game Company has no affiliation with Columbus Nova. Jason Epstein, former member of Columbus Nova, is and has always been the primary owner and executive chairman of Daybreak Game Company (formerly Sony Online Entertainment) which he acquired from Sony in February 2015.
Here's what we know:
- in 2015, then CEO John Smedley said, "We are excited to join Columbus Nova's impressive roster of companies."
- Columbus Nova's Jason Epstein wrote, "Sony Online Entertainment, newly rebranded as Daybreak, is a great addition to our existing portfolio of technology, media and entertainment focused companies."
- the press announcement that was released on the official DGC site has been deleted
- corrections to the company wiki have been made, according to DGC, "That distinction was never corrected in the past, so we are correcting that now."
- Columbus Nova is mentioned in DGC's privacy policy
With the convoluted story developing, it still remains unknown whether or not any of DGC games are in trouble. We'll be watching closely. You can also check out this MMORPG.com thread to see what our readers have been saying.
Kudos to Massively on a terrific investigative piece.
