Sony Online Entertainment’s MMORPGs Get Steamed

Valve and Sony issued a press release today announcing that six of the latter’s massively multiplayer games are now available on Steam.

GROUNDBREAKING MMO LIBRARY FROM SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT ARRIVES ON STEAM

EverQuest®, EverQuest® II, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes® and Pirates of the Burning Sea™ Available Now

Jan. 16, 2009 — Valve Corporation and Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) today announce the availability of some of SOE’s extensive library of Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) titles on Steam, a leading platform for the delivery and management of PC games and digital content with over 15 million accounts around the world.

The SOE developed and/or published titles now available include the complete EverQuest® (EQ) and EverQuest® II (EQII) collections, as well as Vanguard: Saga of Heroes® and Pirates of the Burning Sea™. To kick off this monumental event, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, EQ Secrets of Faydwer and EQII Rise of Kunark are being offered by Valve at a special introductory price for the first 10 days the games are available for purchase on Steam. New SOE game accounts for the game purchased will also receive 30 days of gameplay included with purchase (this offer excludes existing game and Station Access accounts).

In addition, the recently released expansions EverQuest® Seeds of Destruction™ and EverQuest® II The Shadow Odyssey™ are available for purchase.

“Sony Online Entertainment propelled the MMO genre and PC gaming into new era with the launch of EverQuest,” said Jason Holtman, director of business development at Valve. “SOE continues to evolve the genre and PC gaming with new universes such as Vanguard and Pirates of the Burning Sea, while continuously expanding the EverQuest and EverQuest II worlds with over 20 total expansions delivered electronically since the first EQ was released in March 1999.”

“We are always looking for additional ways to introduce our great catalog of games to new audiences. It’s hard to think of a larger group of PC gamers interested in multiplayer games than those connecting to Steam,” said John Smedley, president of SOE. “We’ve long been a leader in MMOs and this agreement will help bring our exciting content to millions of additional online gamers around the world.”

For more information, please visit steamgames.com

About Sony Online Entertainment LLC
Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games, with hundreds of thousands of subscribers around the globe. SOE creates, develops and provides compelling entertainment for the personal computer, online, game console and wireless markets. Known for its blockbuster franchises and hit titles including EverQuest®, EverQuest® II, Champions of Norrath®, Untold Legends™, and PlanetSide®, as well as for developing Star Wars Galaxies, SOE continues to redefine the business of online gaming and the creation of active player communities while introducing new genres on various entertainment platforms. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, with additional development studios in Austin, TX, Seattle, WA, Denver, CO, and Taiwan, SOE has an array of cutting-edge games in development.