Today is a big day for MMOs, especially two of Sony Online Entertainment's flagship products, EverQuest and EverQuest II. The company has simultaneously released an expansion pack for each of the games today, introducing a whole slew of new levels, items, spells, creatures and overall content to each of the worlds.

"Launching dual expansions of this magnitude for two major MMOs on the same day is a Herculean feat," said Russ Shanks, COO and Vice President, Sony Online Entertainment. "It took a full year, dedicated development teams and the experienced infrastructure of SOE to be able to support these simultaneous launches. We're extremely proud of the breadth of the new adventures these two games offer and we're also grateful for the support from our beta testers and loyal community for their input on the final products."

EverQuest's expansion, EverQuest: Secrets of Faydwer is the fourteenth expansion for the historic game and returns to one of the original continents circa 1999 to introduce areas of the map that were never before available.

"We put a renewed emphasis on the test and adjust period for Secrets of Faydwer and increased the number of our Beta testers by 25 percent," said Clint Worley, Sr. Producer, Sony Online Entertainment. "The feedback we received from the players was outstanding and it raised the quality bar exponentially."

Secrets of Faydwer will give players the opportunity to advance beyond the current level cap - to level 80 - as well as obtain new Alternate Advancement abilities, new spells, explore 15 new zones and tackle some old Norrathian legends in Meldrath the Malignant and Kerafyrm the Awakened.

Meanwhile, in the EverQuest II camp, the latest expansion - Rise of Kunark - is now ready for players to explore. This expansion revives one of the most popular continents from the original EverQuest and even brings back quite a bit of nostalgia - keeping landmarks from dungeons and outdoor areas to remind players of the game's predecessor. "This is a return to nostalgia expansion -- where players will enjoy the best game experience in EQII's three year history and likely the most compelling content the franchise has ever seen," according to Scott Hartsman, Sr. Producer, Sony Online Entertainment.

Rise of Kunark follows Secrets of Faydwer by raising the level cap to 80. Additionally, a new race - the Sarnak - and a new starting area have been introduced. Players will also be able to work on all-new class-specific epic weapon quests, for the first time in EverQuest II's history; 24 quests in total have been added with multi-tier rewards starting at Legendary and ending in Fabled quality. Listed below are the features for both expansions.

EverQuest II Rise of Kunark Features

• All-New Player Race – Start up a brand new Sarnak – the classic dragon-like humanoid creature that now inhabits Timorous Deep. Exiled from your homeland and magically altered, discover how your new breed came to be, and eventually return home to help your race triumph over the evil Iksar.
• New Starting Area – Begin your adventure from the new starting area in the islands of Timorous Deep. Conclude your day of questing and retire to new housing within the Village of Gorowyn.
• Level Cap Raised – Continue your adventures with your existing character in Kunark, expanding on your achievements as Adventure and Tradeskill levels all increase to 80. Achievement points cap raised from 100 to 140.
• More Unique Zones – Advance your way through new, massive regions, containing many zones filled with nostalgia and danger, such as The Emerald Jungle, Skyfire Mountains, Sebilis, and Karnor's Castle.
• Hundreds of New Quests – The tale of Kunark is told through hundreds of new quests, aimed at gameplay of all types: solo, group, and raid.
• More Weapons & Armor – New quests for all 24 classes. Battle through the opposition and acquire additional fabled and legendary armor sets.
• New Mount – Explore the world on the shoulders of a new rampaging beast - The Kunarkian Rhinoceros.
• Dozens of New NPCs – Encounter and engage a wide variety of new enemies that inhabit the menacing lands of Kunark.
• Improved Features - New and improved racial abilities for all of the original races, new tradeskill interface and new in-game map capabilities.

EverQuest Secrets of Faydwer Features

• Level Cap Increase – Players can now achieve level 80.
• New High Level Content – Over 3,000 new item sets, more than 300 new spells and 30 new NPCs. In addition, prepare for the return of some of the best known NPC's in the EverQuest franchise!
• 15 New Zones – New realms for adventurers to explore, including: Meldrath's mechanical fortress Mechanotus, the new lands of the Loping Plains and Kerafyrm's lair Crystallos.
• Thrilling New Adventure Content – Travel through Faydwer solo or with a group to complete over 100 new challenges, including 28 high-end raids.
• Alternate Advancement Ability Lines – 170 Alternate Advancement Abilities with various ranks.
• Amazing Heroic Items – Increase stats above current caps!

To find out more about Secrets of Faydwer, head over to http://www.everquest.com. To learn about Rise of Kunark, visit http://www.everquest2.com.