Everquest

EverQuest
Developer(s)	Sony Online Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Sony Online Entertainment
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows OS X (2003–2013)
Release	16 March 1999
Genre(s)	Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Mode(s)	Multiplayer

EverQuest is a 3D fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released on March 16, 1999. It was the second commercially viable MMORPG to be released, after Ultima Online, and the first commercially successful MMORPG to employ a three-dimensional game engine.

EverQuest has had a wide influence on subsequent releases within the market, and holds an important position in the history of massively multiplayer online games. The game surpassed early subscription expectations and grew for many years after its release. It has received awards, including 1999 GameSpot Game of the Year and a 2007 Technology & Engineering Emmy Award.

EverQuest began as a concept by John Smedley in 1996. The original design is credited to Brad McQuaid, Steve Clover, and Bill Trost. It was developed by Sony's 989 Studios and its early-1999 spin-off Verant Interactive, and published by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE).

Since its acquisition of Verant in late 1999, EverQuest was developed by Sony Online Entertainment.

The design and concept of EverQuest is heavily indebted to text-based MUDs, in particular DikuMUD, and as such EverQuest is considered a 3D evolution of the text MUD genre like some of the MMOs that preceded it, such as Meridian 59 and The Realm Online. John Smedley, Brad McQuaid, Steve Clover and Bill Trost, who jointly are credited with creating the world of EverQuest, have repeatedly pointed to their shared experiences playing MUDs such as Sojourn and TorilMUD as the inspiration for the game. Famed book cover illustrator Keith Parkinson created the box covers for earlier installments of EverQuest.

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