H1Z1 Boss Clarifies "WoW-Style MMOs Are Over" Comments

In a recent interview, PC MMO H1Z1 boss John Smedley said the way people play games today is changing, so much so that he commented: "I firmly believe the days of the WoW-style MMO are over." Also in that interview, he said, "How many people do you still know that are still raiding in WoW every night?"

Now, Smedley has clarified his comments in a post on Reddit, offering more insight in how his company, Daybreak (formerly known as Sony Online Entertainment), is approaching game development in 2015 and beyond.

"I was asked in the interview about what things we're doing differently for our new games going forward and that's when I said we're focused on shorter session times because not many people have the time anymore to spend on a four-hour raid," Smedley began.

"Don't mistake that comment for me not believing in raiding or knowing that there are a ton of people that play MMOs that still absolutely love to do it! We also plan on continuing to support EverQuest and EverQuest II for the very long haul and providing exactly the kind of cool content our players have expected. None of that is changing."

Though Smedley said he still believes in the appeal of raiding, Daybreak is making an active decision to create games that are tailored to shorter average play sessions.

"Why? Because that's the way the gaming world has evolved and we need to adapt," he said. "That's precisely why we aimed so high on Everquest Next. We know we needed to change our aim on these games. We can't just expect our users to want to grind through an epic eight-hour raid encounter or treat these games like it's a second job. We need to make sure our games are just as fun in smaller time increments."

"That's the entirety of what I was talking about [in the interview]," Smedley added. "It's not a comment on today's games. It's a comment on today's reality and where we are aiming at least some of our games."

What do you make of Smedley's response? Let us know in the comments below!