EverQuest's second birthday

While the game had gone through a lengthy period of beta testing, it was two years ago today that EverQuest was officially released. Verant and Sony Online are commemorating the game's continued success with a Web site devoted to the game's early stages. On it, you can find screenshots from the prerelease version of EverQuest, concept art for a number of the creatures that now inhabit Norrath, and transcripts of discussions with those involved in EverQuest's design and testing.

Sony Online has also taken the occasion to remind us just how successful EverQuest and its two successive expansion packs, Ruins of Kunark and Scars of Velious, have been over the last two years. The game averages 87,000 users online at peak hours and has 360,000 active subscribers who pay $10 monthly, which over these two years have reportedly made EverQuest the most profitable PC game in retail today.