Daybreak Games claimed this Russian oligarch as owner—then the sanctions hit

Enlarge / Daybreak's story on the money behind this logo has been changing recently.

Back in 2015, the former Sony Online Entertainment announced it was being bought by investment management firm Columbus Nova and changing its name to Daybreak Game Company (Everquest II, H1Z1, Planetside 2). Now that the US Treasury Department is sanctioning the Russian oligarch that owns Columbus Nova, though, Daybreak is suddenly saying that it has never had any affiliation with its ostensible parent company.

Let's start with the few undisputed facts in this odd tale. Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg was placed under sanction by the US Treasury Department earlier this month for "malign" and "destabilizing activities" in various international affairs. Vekselberg, whose US assets have been frozen, is the owner of technology investment group Columbus Nova and its parent company, Renova Group.

What Daybreak now disputes, though, is that Columbus Nova ever had an ownership stake in the MMO maker. "From the get-go, Daybreak has been primarily owned by Jason Epstein, a longtime investor who also has investments in a variety of media properties," the company wrote in a forum post yesterday. "We're well aware of prior statements from Daybreak indicating our company was acquired by Columbus Nova. We have since clarified that the company was acquired by Jason Epstein when he was a partner at Columbus Nova, which he left in 2017."