Last Friday, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) — the company behind MMORPG giants Everquest and Star Wars: Galaxies — announced on Friday that they have purchased the rights to The Matrix Online. (Previously held by Warner Bros.) According to SOE, Matrix Online players will not see any changes in the game or subscription pricing, however they will need to re-register with SOE and submit their billing information while agreeing to SOE terms of service, user license, privacy policy, etc. Everyone who successfully re-registers will be able to continue playing with current characters with all of their equipment. Additionally, players will have to create a Station ID to continue playing Matrix Online. For some players this may spell trouble, as customers who have been previously banned from the Station service will not be able to continue playing The Matrix Online, even if they have been playing since the game started in March with no transgressions.

During these negotiations with Warner Bros., SOE also managed to purchase the rights to make an MMORPG based on the DC Comics universe. Details on what the new DC game will be like and on which platforms it will run are practically non-existent at the time of this writing, however the game could give superhero MMORPG City of Heroes a run for its money once the game is released, which SOE hopes will be around late 2007.

“Expanding our fans’ ability to participate in the DC universe through a great online game is a terrific step forward for DC Comics,” said Paul Levitz, President & Publisher of DC Comics. “We look forward to working with our colleagues at Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and the talented folks at SOE.”

“Our goal is to deliver quality content and consistently advance our key properties within the online games space,” said Jason Hall, senior vice president of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “We’ve done just that with The Matrix Online. Because of our compelling work in developing and launching that game we can now move it over to the leaders in the MMO space, SOE. We look forward to working with SOE to enhance our overall services to massively multiplayer online gamers for The Matrix Online and a new DC Comics game.”

SOE Press Release | SonyOnline.com
Matrix Online FAQ on the Sony Acquisition | TheMatrixOnline.WarnerBros.com