On February 3, Sony Online Entertainment announced the opening of a new development studio in Seattle, Wash. While the announcement was a bit of a surprise for a company that has had one of the most successful massively multiplayer online games in the history of the genre, what was even more surprising, and exciting, was the team assembled to power the studio and a yet-to-be-named MMO project.

Matt Wilson, John Smith, Alex Pfaffe, Craig Link and Ed Fries, formerly with Microsoft and FireAnt have joined the team (though Fries will serve in an advisory role) and bring a wealth of experience to the table.

Some of the games they have worked on include Dungeon Siege, Ultima Online, Wing Commander, Asheron’s Call, and the Mythica title (which was cancelled by Microsoft just a few months from projected release).

Of course, they are working on a project and little can be said at this juncture what that project may be. However, Matt, who serves as executive producer of SOE-Seattle, talked with GameZone about the state of MMOs in general, and what he would like to see from the next generation of MMOs.