EverQuest II: 10 Years Later

Sony Online Entertainment’s EverQuest sequel has already been online and populated for over ten years, and that’s led to Pixel Critique editorializing about the game’s launch a decade ago, the stiff competition it faced against World of Warcraft, how it’s faring today, and more. A snip:

For a time, EverQuest II was a game destined for greatness. As the follow-up to the biggest MMO ever released up until that point (and one of the biggest and most important games ever made, period), many held the opinion that if EverQuest II could just not screw the pooch, it was going to be a monster hit.

Putting that lineage aside for a minute, though, EverQuest II looked to have quite a few things going for it, based on its own merits. This is especially true when looking at the game from a technical standpoint.

The graphics had received a simply jaw-dropping overhaul from the last game (indeed EverQuest II was one of the best looking PC games available when it was released), and developer Sony Online Entertainment certainly delivered on their promise that EverQuest II would feature a staggering amount of voice work that would lend both production values, and an epic feel, no other MMO could match.

Yet it never quite made it to the big time.

It’s difficult to say what went wrong with EverQuest II without mentioning World of Warcraft. While EQ II had it’s fair share of internal problems (most of which were of the technical variety), to me, it’s biggest failing was overconfidence. Much like a great, naturally talented athlete, EverQuest II had a lot going for it right off the bat, that it never quite learned the work-ethic of its less gifted competition.

Developer SoE may have crafted a better EverQuest experience, but in the five years since that game’s arrival, the world had moved on, and a better EverQuest experience just wasn’t enough. EQ II just didn’t offer enough of a new experience to either entice new players, or keep those who were most loyal to the franchise from testing new waters, or just keep playing the original EverQuest. Sure the game had some internal issues as well, but really, there weren’t many aspects of the game that couldn’t have been smoothed out over the years if the work had been put in.