Night Owl Games has acquired the worlwide publishing rights to Dungeon Overlord from Sony Online Entertainment, giving the developers control over the sales, marketing and operations of the Facebook game.

You're probably wondering if this move has anything to do with the hacker attack that kept SOE offline from May 2-14. According to Night Owl Games, "the buy-back of the publishing rights to Dungeon Overlord has been planned since before the recent security issues." Basically, the game's "overwhelming success" has allowed the developers to buy back the publishing rights from SOE.

There will be some Dungeon Overlord downtime this month while Night Owl Games performs the migration of data. You can find more details in the FAQ after the jump. If you'd like to try out the game, head over to the Dungeon Overlord Facebook page.

Dungeon Overlord Transition FAQ

Why is Dungeon Overlord™ no longer an SOE Game?
“Our overwhelming success with the Beta has enabled us to buy back the publishing rights [from SOE]; enabling us to take the lead as the premier developer and publisher of Facebook games designed to appeal to the hardcore gamer.” – Chris Mayer, CEO Night Owl Games, LP

Being the publisher means a higher percent of the game’s revenues flow to Night Owl Games™, than just being the developer. We can use those revenues to re-invest and continue to improve Dungeon Overlord and also make new games.

Who is Night Owl Games?
Night Owl Games is an Austin, TX based game publisher and developer, whose first game is Dungeon Overlord for Facebook. Night Owl Games makes and publishes deep online games that are easy to play, yet still appeal to hardcore gamers. We use classic game design techniques that leverage nostalgia to appeal to a new audience for social games.

Does this have anything to do with the recent Sony Security Breach?
No. The buy-back of the publishing rights to Dungeon Overlord has been planned since before the recent security issues.

Are you closing the existing Beta Server?
No. All your current account data will be saved and migrated to our new systems.

Are you moving the game off of Facebook?
No. We will not being moving Dungeon Overlord off of Facebook at this time.

Will the game be down? For how long?
Yes. There will be some downtime as we perform the migration of data. Our goal is to keep it as brief as needed to properly transition your game data.

When will this happen?
We expect the transition to happen during the month of June.

What happens to our previously purchased premium content such as Boosts, Additional Tiles/Goblins, etc.?
Nothing. Any previously purchased content will remain after the transition.

What are Dungeon Marks™?
Dungeon Marks will be our new Dungeon Overlord in-game currency which will be used to purchase premium content for the game.

How will I be able to buy purchased premium content with Night Owl Games?
While this is still being finalized, it is expected that you will use Facebook Credits to purchase Dungeon Marks enabling you to purchase premium content inside Dungeon Overlord.

What payment options will be available?
While this is still being finalized, it’s expected that payment for premium in-game items will be available through Facebook’s Credits system. It is easy to use and safe, supporting all major Credit Cards, and even Trialpay.

Will you still be fixing “bugs” and providing content updates?
Yes! We absolutely will continue to improve the game and are still actively working on the previously announced Lord of the Mountain content.

How does this affect the upcoming Lord of the Mountain content that was previously announced?
The new expansion is still coming, and is not affected by the transition.

Will I have to create a new account?
No. You may be required to allow new Facebook authentication, but your account in the game will remain, and none of your dungeons or creatures will be lost.

However, our forums and support system will be new, so any accounts on those systems will be lost, and you’ll need to make a new account for those services.

Will there be game forums?
Yes! For now, continue to use the existing forums. In the future, you’ll visit the Night Owl Games Forums to participate in the conversation.

What happens to all the existing forum posts?
Unfortunately, forum posts will not be able to migrate. We will have new forums, but there will be no migration of old posts or accounts.

How can I get game support?
For now, continue in the same way. In the future, you’ll visit Night Owl Games Customer Service for assistance.

When will Dungeon Overlord come out of Beta?
Night Owl Games will take Dungeon Overlord out of beta and officially launch sometime in summer 2011.

Are you hiring?
Yes. We have a few open positions. You can check for them on our website.

What if I have more questions?
We’ll be updating this FAQ periodically to ensure we’re answering as many questions as we can and providing as much of the latest known details as we have available.