Games studio Daybreak Game Company has canceled EverQuest Next, an upcoming free-to-play MMO that was supposed to be a successor to numerous EverQuest titles. In a statement posted on the studio's website, Daybreak Game Company's president, Russell Shanks, said the title just simply didn't live up the franchise's standards.

"As we put together the pieces, we found that it wasn’t fun," writes Shanks. "In final review, we had to face the fact that EverQuest Next would not meet the expectations we — and all of you — have for the worlds of Norrath."

It's sad news for EverQuest fans, but might also suggest shifting expectations for the games industry as a whole. Earlier this week, Microsoft announced that it was stopping development on the free-to-play title Fable Legends as part of the possible shutdown of Lionhead Studios. Perhaps F2P just isn't as attractive a prospect for studios as it once was.

Here's the statement from Shanks in full: