SOE drops region-lock for EU players; PSS1 accounts can return July 2014.

UPDATE: If you signed up for the EverQuest Next (not Landmark) beta through PSS1, make sure you re-apply for the beta via SOE.

The 2.5 year-long SOE and ProSiebenSat.1 partnership is finally coming to a close. It was met with controversy back when it was announced in January 2012, spurring a huge feedback thread that had even players not affected by it upset, and caused others to stop playing SOE games entirely. A couple of months after a 30-60 day transition warning was released, the lack of cohesion and foresight in the original agreement caused PSS1 and SOE go back to the table (though 'lessons learned from DCUO's transition' was the proported reasoning), kicking off a delay that resulted in current EU SOE accounts not being forced to migrate to PSS1. After all the pain the community went through, the integration finally went into effect on June 20, 2013.

After over two years of community grief and a year of the actual integration, SOE has announced that it is ending its partnership with PSS1. We can only hope that our EU friends that left the game will now return to EverQuest II.

As of today’s date (June 18, 2014), region locks have been lifted. New EU residents wishing to register should do so via SOE hosted sites.

On or about July 1, 2014, we will offer PSG players the opportunity to migrate their existing accounts to SOE account management, in order to continue playing SOE games. All earned status, characters and in-game coin will transfer with the account.

Continue after the jump for the entire message.

Your payment details and personal information will not be transferred. When a transfer is initiated, only the ProSiebenSat.1 Games account name, character information, Seven Cash balance, and other game-related data will be provided from PSG to SOE, exclusively for migration purposes. You will need to have an existing SOE Station Account or create a new SOE account, subject to SOE’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, in order to continue playing the games through SOE’s service. You will also be required to enter your payment details if you wish to make purchases through your SOE account.

After migration, EU players with existing memberships will be automatically upgraded to SOE All Access Memberships. All EU residents will have the opportunity to purchase All Access memberships at the same rate as the old, single-game memberships, and enjoy all SOE games as well as a monthly 500 Station Cash claim, marketplace discounts and many promotions.

In even more exciting news, SOE Player Studio (EQII, EQ, PS2) is also expanding its scope to include submissions from EU countries, starting with Germany, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK. Testing of the new tax registration process is already well underway!

Lastly, we want to thank you all for your dedication to the games, your support and invaluable feedback. Please keep it coming so we can make this the best possible experience for you now and in the future.

ProSiebenSat.1 Games
Sony Online Entertainment

Source: EQII Forums
Image Credit: EQ2 Wire

Here is the later update pertaining to EverQuest Next:

Source: EQNext Forums