It’s been a hell of a week for H1Z1, and PlanetSide 2 developer Daybreak Games.
It all started earlier this week when the
U.S. government froze assets owned by several Russian oligarchs said to be involved in “destabilising activities” in the U.S., most notable of which is interference with the country’s 2016 elections.
Viktor Vekselberg, one of the businessmen targeted by these sanctions, owns Renova Group, a subsidiary of which is Columbus Nova, a company long believed to be the owner of Daybreak. It has long been reported that Daybreak’s parent company is Columbus Nova, which bought it off Sony when the latter
sold it in 2015.
Following a report from
Massively OP, Daybreak released a statement denying any affiliation with Columbus Nova. Instead, the company says that its owner, Jason Epstein, is a “former member of Columbus Nova.”
“Jason Epstein, former member of Columbus Nova, is and has always been the primary owner and executive chairman of Daybreak Game Company (formerly Sony Online Entertainment) which he acquired from Sony in February 2015,” said Daybreak.
The statement is bizarre to say the least, because former president John Smedley
specifically mentions Columbus Nova as the investment firm that acquired Daybreak, formerly Sony Online Entertainment, back in 2015.
However, according to Daybreak, the initial 2015 announcement had some errors, most notably pertaining to Columbus Nova’s involvement.
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