Vanguard Moves From Microsoft to SOE

Sigil Games announced on Friday that they've parted ways with Microsoft, who was to be the publisher of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, and struck a deal with Sony Online Entertainment. There is a lot of anticipation surrounding Vanguard because Sigil was founded by Brad McQuaid and Jeff Butler, who played key roles in the development of EverQuest. "As co-publisher of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, Sigil assumes greater control of marketing and PR, while maintaining responsibility for game development, community relations, media relations, customer support, and quality assurance. Under the terms of the agreement, SOE will provide distribution, marketing, hosting and back-end support - including billing and technical support - for the game."

This probably a good thing for Vanguard fans, because SOE hosts, markets, and bills as well as anyone in the business. The developers have been answering heaps of questions on the official forums, which Glip the Gnome has compiled into this handy FAQ for those who want more details. Apparently Sigil, Sony, and Microsoft are all overjoyed with the arrangement, leaving only a handful of disguntled EverQuest players to complain among themselves.