LOTRO: We’ll Always Have the Books
I was cautiously optimistic when EG7 acquired Daybreak Game Company in December 2020. I found the various communications by CEO Robin Flodin to be quite encouraging. I got the impression that EG7 were facilitators and planned to provide the resources that developers such as Standing Stone Games required to move their portfolio of games forward. For the first time in ages, I felt that there was a positive future for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. The arrival of a new Producer, Oleg Brodskiy (AKA Raninia), certainly appeared to address the community communications vacuum that has existed for several years. However, it would appear that Robin Flodin has been removed as CEO. Apparently he had a poor interview recently with Dagen Industri in which he had “difficulty answering questions about the difference between total revenues and net sales during the quarter”. This followed an interim business report that was not well received with the market and led to a drop in share prices by 25%. Hence he was removed by the EG7 board.
I was cautiously optimistic when EG7 acquired Daybreak Game Company in December 2020. I found the various communications by CEO Robin Flodin to be quite encouraging. I got the impression that EG7 were facilitators and planned to provide the resources that developers such as Standing Stone Games required to move their portfolio of games forward. For the first time in ages, I felt that there was a positive future for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. The arrival of a new Producer, Oleg Brodskiy (AKA Raninia), certainly appeared to address the community communications vacuum that has existed for several years. However, it would appear that Robin Flodin has been removed as CEO. Apparently he had a poor interview recently with Dagen Industri in which he had “difficulty answering questions about the difference between total revenues and net sales during the quarter”. This followed an interim business report that was not well received with the market and led to a drop in share prices by 25%. Hence he was removed by the EG7 board.
In the meantime, Ji Ham has been appointed acting CEO, while EG7 searches for a permanent replacement. Ji Ham being the CEO of Daybreak Game Company. It all appears rather arcane to the layman. According to Robin Flodin, EG7 had increasing sales during the second quarter of 2021. The company, which has made numerous acquisitions in recent years, still reported higher profits. Yet shares prices have fallen and perhaps there are widers concerns about expanding too quickly and overreaching. Certainly there is consternation within the company and hence the change in CEO. It now remains to be seen as to whether this has any impact upon the various studios that EG7 own. Will the acting or new CEO make any radical policy changes and halt any ongoing projects? Simply put, from the fans point of view will this ultimately affect LOTRO?
As I’ve written in the past, the average LOTRO player is pretty much oblivious to what goes on at the corporate level. They just log into the game and take their pleasure where they can find it. Often they’re only aware of changes in the game, as and when they happen. For those of us who are more interested in how SSG are doing, it can be quite frustrating trying to get a handle on what is going on. Business strategy is seldom a topic for the public domain. Most of the information we have access to is limited to new reports and official press releases. Neither give us sufficient to go on. It therefore could be a case that the departure of Robin Flodin will have no impact upon LOTRO. But then again it could. Are we effectively back to square one again? It’s hard to tell. Perhaps that’s why I’m returning to and finding comfort in Tolkien’s source text. At least we’ll always have the books.
LOTRO: EG7 Community Update
Last December EG7 announced that it had purchased Daybreak Game Company and its portfolio. It subsequently became apparent that DGC was not just the publisher for Standing Stone Games but in fact their owner. Something that many players had suspected for a while. After an investor briefing was published, it became clear that EG7 were not just another corporate body out to asset strip and make a fast buck but were in fact genuinely interested in growing and improving the games that they now owned. For players of the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online, a wave of cautious optimism spread throughout the community. Hints at a graphical overhaul for the game and a potential console conversion were well received. Further news and specific details have been eagerly anticipated.
Last December EG7 announced that it had purchased Daybreak Game Company and its portfolio. It subsequently became apparent that DGC was not just the publisher for Standing Stone Games but in fact their owner. Something that many players had suspected for a while. After an investor briefing was published, it became clear that EG7 were not just another corporate body out to asset strip and make a fast buck but were in fact genuinely interested in growing and improving the games that they now owned. For players of the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online, a wave of cautious optimism spread throughout the community. Hints at a graphical overhaul for the game and a potential console conversion were well received. Further news and specific details have been eagerly anticipated.
Yesterday, EG7 published a press release as well as a YouTube video, in which CEO Robin Flodin discusses what the company has been doing for the last 4 month in relation to its current portfolio of games. The written statement is somewhat broad in its scope and conciliatory in its tone. Robin Flodin uses a lot of management speak. That is not necessarily a bad thing. We all use the terminology of the industry that we work in. However, it is far from vague and does indicate how EG7 see their role and what their future remit is. “Many of these games, while successful and continually supported, have had their unique challenges. Many of these challenges are long standing and important, but due to their scope or other situations, haven’t been feasible to address. All of us want this to change”. He then further states “I want to assure you that this effort is a priority for me, EG7, and Daybreak. We have been listening to the community feedback and to all of your questions and concerns. This is an ongoing effort and as we make progress, the goal is to develop specific plans to create an even better game experience for all of our players”.
The video is a little more specific and proves illuminating as to the company’s policy and approach. Here Robin Flodin makes some direct comments about the company's intent. “We’re trying to make these companies better. We’re trying to help them improve in areas where we think we can create value”. He admits where they feel DGC has gone wrong which is a candid and unexpected statement of fact. He references mistakes made with the handling of H1Z1 and Planetside 2 and it would appear that the code for H1Z1 is currently being audited to see what can be done with it. Possibilities range from revamping the game and rolling it back to the iteration players liked best or to repurpose the code into another title. This is an interesting development because it shows that EG7 are not just going to arbitrarily dismiss and close games that they own. It would appear that they have a far more long term business mindset than DGC.
So what does this mean for LOTRO? Well both these statements, although not specific to the game, do inspire a degree of hope. It seems to me that EG7 see themselves as troubleshooters and facilitators who wish to invest, encourage and empower the various companies that develop their portfolio of games. The idea seems to be to foster improvement and growth, based on consumer feedback. If we are to take such policies at face value, the I think the most practical thing to do is to give EG7 a year and see if there are any noticeable changes. With regard to LOTRO let us see if they can encourage Standing Stone Games to be more innovative. I don't expect to see any major change in content design immediately but it is not unreasonable to expect a wider discussion about future development and an improvement in community relations from SSG.
EG7 doesn't strike me as corporate pirates. They seem to want to improve the titles they own and keep both customers and their investors happy. However, their position is very much one of enabling and supporting the existing developers. This approach is fine if the only previous problems a developer has experienced were a lack of funding and confidence from their owners. What concerns me with regard to encouraging and enabling SSG, is that they don’t strike me as being the most imaginative thinkers at senior level and appear to be somewhat entrenched in their views. Therefore there is still potential that they may steer LOTRO off a cliff if left unchecked. Perhaps what SSG requires is an injection of fresh talent and for LOTRO to be put in the hands of those who have a more aspirational view of its future potential. As ever, only time will tell but it is pleasant to have some hope in the interim.