“This is where we get to the stuff we can’t quite talk about just yet… yes, a little teasing I know, but trust us, it is far more frustrating not being able to talk about what is coming just yet. These will be important updates, with two new and important elements incoming,” said Morrison last month.

Now, fans are frothing at the mouth in the game’s forums, anticipating two new Hyborian provinces – Turan and Ardashir. Our friends at Massively have done the hard work for us, confirming that filtering the in-game player search tab by region does indeed present gamers with new headings – Turan and Ardashir – alongside Aquilonia, Cimmeria, Khitai and Stygia.

Adding fuel to the fire is publisher Funcom’s annual report, which says in part that the game will see “significant content and story tie-ins”, thanks to the release of the new Conan the Barbarian movie due out this year. Either way, it looks like the world as we know it is about to be changed.

If you were still holding out for a 360 version of Funcom MMO Age Of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, now may be the time to hang up your axe: Funcom’s Erling Ellingson has told VG247 “there are no plans on releasing an Xbox 360 version any time soon”.

The statement represents a change in tack from the last time we heard anything on the 360 SKU, which was last February.

At that point, Funcom said it was “still working on it for the future”.

Looks like the future’s been and gone.

Speaking yesterday, though, Ellingson was keen to note that console work is ongoing at the Norwegian publisher and developer.

“It’s important to say that we are working on console technology internally, definitely, for our graphics engine,” he said.

“The options are there, basically.”

Conan, originally released for PC in 2008, isn’t the only MMO to start on the road to 360, only to be thwarted by a myriad of problems in making the final leap to Xbox Live: Marvel Universe Online, FFXIV and Champions Online all suffered the same fate.

“Full steam ahead”

Conan’s PC version, however, is still going strong, Ellingson assured.

“We have a full live-team working on it, working on technical improvements, content improvements and all-new content. We’re putting tons of focus on Age of Conan,” said the developer.

“We fully expect to have Age of Conan running for a long time. Exactly how long is impossible to say, but there are absolutely no plans for stopping support for Age of Conan.

“Age of Conan is one of the most important projects we have in the company. Age of Conan is going full steam ahead, and we’re working on tons of cool stuff that we’re looking forward to talking about.”

The game has had a single major expansion pack in Rise of the Godslayer, which released in August 2009.

Funcom said this week that it’s next major MMO, The Secret World, is to be released through EA Partners at an unspecified date.

This may be an offer you can’t refuse. Funcom is allowing anyone that creates an Age of Conan account and logs-into the game before January 1 to play up to level 20, over an unlimited time period, for no charge whatsoever.

There are a few caveats: “Please note that a trial account has some limitations to avoid ‘spam’ and ‘gold farmers’,” said the firm.

“You cannot trade with others, use in-game mail, public chat channels and you can not post on the forums.”

All that gets cut away if you go full-blown, however. You get extra treats when you sub up, in addition.

“If and when you decide to upgrade your account you will receive an immediate boost to your progress through an exclusive and powerful beginner’s item that increases both XP gain and your chance of performing fatality moves,” the dev added.

Hit this.

This was a rather large week in MMOs as far as news went, and not all of it was Halloween related.

Past the break you will hear all about how Ultima Online is still going strong, get familiarized with the new patch for Aion, read up on Cryptic’s Blood Moon event via a dev chat, PvP henchmen and Guild Wars, Alganon’s delay, China’s ban on males playing females in games, and many other bits of stuff that didn’t hit the front page during the week.

Also, we hope everyone who plays MMOs enjoyed the Halloween and Fall festivities that their particular favorites hosted. Loads had celebrations, more than likely every single one of ‘em. If we forgot to mention your particular game, head on over to the list through the link ther and add it in the comments section so that we may give it its proper shout-out.

• Funcom has handed over 20 new images (be sure to check page two as well) from Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures for Xbox 360 to Gamespot. The console version of the MMO is expected sometime next year. While we’re on the subject of Conan, the most recent update to the game not only added the Nights of Lost Souls event, but a Veteran Points system and a brand new dungeon. With Veteran Points you gain points the longer are subscribed and can use the points on an extra inventory bag, a potion to reset your character, skill training, or even breast augmentation for your female character or thicker veiny muscles for your arms if you are male. Great stuff there, and it’s all detailed through the official site via the latest newsletter. Funcom’s Erling Ellingsen has promised more incentives are on the way, but was not ready to divulge exactly what the plan is just yet while having a chat this week with Eurogamer. Also, one last thing: a new Wiki of sorts has been added to the official website, which will allow users to keep track off all updates, new additions, and plans head gamers ways.

• Those who’ve been looking forward to Alganon’s October 31 launch may have noticed when trying to log in that the game has not launched yet. That’s because it has been delayed until December 1 in order for the developers and testers to refine and tweak the game a bit more. The good news about the delay though, is that to make up for it, all who preordered the game before October 31 will get a free month of subscription time to compensate for the missed release. Not too shabby of a deal there.

• Brian “Zombie Columbus” has a new developer diary posted over on the official site for LOTRO. IN part five, he discusses the new Skirmish system coming in the December add-on, Siege of Mirkwood, an focuses his talk on the rewards system, marks, traits, vendors and other things you need to know before venturing forth into the dark forest.

• Those wanting to try out Champions Online were blessed with a free-to-play weekend in order to see what they were missing. Hopefully all who wanted to, got in on it, but if you think you missed out – don’t worry. You have until November 2 and you will also be able to participate in the Blood Moon event. If you are still on the fence, Cryptic hosted a dev chat this past week, and you can read it through here and find out all you need to know on the superhero game. Also, if you logged in on October 27, you were given a free Retcon which is a very valuable commodity.

• Massively has found this awesome video that can only be described as pure propaganda from the Klingon Empire. No, it’s not viral marketing from Cryptic toting its upcoming Star Trek Online MMO, but that’s no matter. It’s still awesome and totally communist looking. It’s in all Klingon, the domain it is registered to is in Klingon, and it makes us want to join up with the courageous warriors with heads that look like a fanny.

• It looks as though some designers who create virtual items and sell them through Second Life were victims of having scripts from their items stolen and recreated and dispersed throughout the game. Linden Labs is trying to get stuff like this to stop happening by using blacklisting methods, but it seems that some are finding ways around it. Massively have explained what is going on through here, and you can read the pot that brought all this to light here from the maker of Strokerz Toyz.

• Aurora Technology, the developers of King of the World, are banning male players who play as female characters in China. In order to continue playing the game, players have to prove their gender via webcam. Yikes. So far, this is only happening in the one game, but according to GamePolitics, Aurora is a subsidiary of Shanda, which is the publisher for Aion and D&D Online in China, so the restrictions could eventually spread to those games as well.

• A new add-on for Bounty Bay Online called Beyond the Horizon goes live November 25. In it, five new ship types are being introduced to an individual character classes and can be obtained through new cities of the north and south American continents to higher level players. All of the ships are different from one another in not only looks but cargo capacity, manoeuvrability, size of crew and by the number of cannons. This is the third add-on to the game and features the new continent of South America, six new cities, five new character classes, new instances, an expanded pet system with new pets, new PvP arenas and tournaments, new ranking systems and a new mini-game all for free. More through here.

• Runes of Magic Patch 2.1.2, Storming of the Acropolis, has been released. It paves the way for players to journey into the Naga Empire and adds the Halloween Pumpkin Festival with elite skills for the Elf classes and a territory expansion for the Aotulia Volcano zone. Full patch notes can be found through the official site.

• ArenaNet updated Guild Wars this week with henchmen being added to the Guild Hall and Heroes Ascent. So far, Heroes have been removed, but community manager Regina Buenaobra said that programmers are looking into enabling Heroes again. Read up on the full thing here.

• The City of Heroes team talked all things Going Rogue over on the official forums this week, and for those of you wondering just went this wonderful transformation will take effect, should fret no longer. The release Release is currently targeted for Q2 2010, with a Beta starting early 2010. First dibs for Beta attendance will be handed out in the following order: Friends & Family, Hero Con attendees, 5-year veterans, Loyalty Program participants, those who preorder Going Rogue. Also outlined in the post were Ultra Graphics, new Powersets, Praetoria, the Going Rogue system, new Factions and other juicy bits of info. It’s all through here.

• Over on 1UP, there’s a preview of LEGO Universe, which talks about the game’s progression, building quests, along with the ability to have different themes such as Star Wars planets, ninjas, robots, and pirates. There’s even a nifty little video.

• The newest Final Fantasy XI add-on, A Shantotto Ascension: The Legend Torn, Her Empire Reborn is expected to land on November 9 and is currently available for for preorder. It will introduce Doctor Shantotto, just in case you didn’t figure that out already. BigDownload has a video of it here.

• Tim Cotten, lead designer for Ultima Online, has told Gamasutra that despite its age and the multitude of competition out there, the game is still going strong with its rather large “core player base”. Cotten also said that more expansion are planned in the future, as the timeline is still not used up yet. Full thing through the link.

• Lost Saga is now in open Beta. Featuring playable heroes, including everything from boxing champs to iron knights, pirates to ninjas, and even cowboys to dark shamans, if you want in on the free-to-play game’s Beta, more information and sign-ups are through here.

• Aion has tentative patch notes released this week for players to preview the new update before it hits. While the patch is still a ways off, the notes mentioned that experience is being addressed, new repeatable quests focusing on crafting are on the way as well as extra experience for gathering and crafting, and a reduction in experience penalties for group quests are on the way too. There will also be increased drop rates in several areas and a lot less of a grind. Thankfully. No word yet on a release date for it, but the full preview can be found over on the official site.

• The free-to-play action RPG, Dungeon Party, got a major update that added the Engineer, Rider and Amazon classes, ten new dungeons, a dungeon editor and a new environment to allow the creation of custom levels. Get the client here.

• DC Universe Online’s creative director, Chris Cao, was interviewed with DCUO Source this week. In the video, he chats about how the development team has approached building the game’s design, how player feedback impacts the development, how the game handles secret identities, and all other things you need to know if you plan on playing it.

• Over on Massively, there’s a transcripti of a chat with the Fallen Earth content team lead, Marie “Arosei” Croall. She discusses many things planned for the game, one of which was in-game housing. Other tidbits about plans for an upcoming patch are in there too, along with a lot of banter about horses, glue, and giant chickens.

• SOE has sent over 12 screens for EverQuest II’s latest event, Nights of the Dead. The celebration runs until November 9 and there will be trick or treating and the haunted mansion in Qeynos and Freeport. There will also be decorations all around Norrath, and Ponchy will be offering up his quest in Antonica. Cool. Enjoy the screens (sorry about the header image in there – gallery auto adds it in, and it’s from LOTRO, not EQII).

• Cryptic has release part two of its Star Trek Online:The Future Past video series. It’s more timeline stuff, full of Romulan, Federation, and Klingon goodness. It’s below, courtesy of Gamespot.

Funcom has announced that players who used to have an Age of Conan account can come back for free.

From now until July 22, former can players re-activate their accounts with no obligations and receive 2 weeks of additional free playtime.

Hopefully all the improvements made over the months and the upcoming expansion will sway opinions on it.

More through the official site.

Age of Conan’s first expansion will be revealed during GamesCom in August.

“We will be revealing the first expansion for Age of Conan at the GamesCom show in August,” said Funcom’s Erling Ellingsen.

“We have lots of exciting stuff to reveal and Conan players and gamers in general are in for a real treat, but for now, our lips are sealed until then.”

Attendees can expect to see in-game footage, new quests, monsters, environments and other goodies.

More over on Massively.

Funcom is has launched a free trial for Age of Conan.

In an attempt to reel in more subscribers to the struggling MMO, the game’s director has posted an open letter on AoC’s official site, detailing the plan.

Also mentioned was AoC’s new update, expected to land on the test servers sometime this week with the only hints at content being a new gem crafting system and some class changes.

The development team also talked about the possibility of changing the game’s “Combat Combat Combat” scheme to “Content, Conflict, Characters and Community”.

Thanks, IncGamers.

Funcom CFO Olav Sandnes has resigned after Funcom’s Q4 results showed a $23.3 million loss.

A stumbling Age of Conan was blamed for the decline. E24′s estimated today that subs for the MMO are now as low as 100,000.

“Funcom is a company with a substantial potential based on a unique combination of skill sets in a fast growing global market. I wish Trond Aas and the rest of the organisation all the best in realising the full potential of the company,” said Sandnes.

While Funcom’s cash position remains solid at $39.4 million, the company reported a full-year net loss of $33.8 million.

Thanks, GI.

A big PvP fix for Age of Conan will patch next time you log into the game. The update includes four new dungeons.

Three new instances for maxed-out players include wing three of Black Ring Citadel, Slaughterhouse Cellar, and Xibaluku. Cradle of Decay is for mid-level players.

Class tweaks, new emotes and crafting drops have also been added to the patch.

Ton of release notes over on the AoC forums.

Funcom’s posted details on how Age of Conan’s servers are to be merged.

“The first servers that will be merged are the US servers ‘Bloodspire’ and ‘Hyperborea’,” said US community manager Glen ‘Famine’ Swan.

“The list of servers for the next merges will be published shortly.”

More on Massively. Thanks, Blue.

This TenTonHammer post is rumouring that Funcom’s dropped 70 percent of its American staff, totalling some 60 jobs.

Apparently the cuts were made on Wednesday, with the bulk of the redundancies coming from customer service and QA.

There’s little detail there so this goes under “rumour” for now. Expect it to be firmed up next week.

Funcom’s put a large content update live in Age of Conan, claiming it’s the biggest since the game launched.

The update introduces a new area in Ymir’s Pass, which opens up a host of new quests, characters, monsters “and a dramatic new storyline to unravel”.

Screens and video on CVG.

According to this EG story, Funcom’s Age of Conan’s first Asian release will be in Korea.

Korean firm Neowiz will be handling the port.

“We are very excited to introduce the world-class large-scale MMORPG Age of Conan with its popularity and great reputation in the industry,” said Neowiz boss Choi Gwan-ho.

“This will be the first large-scale MMORPG for Neowiz Games and both companies will also work tightly together to adapt and implement a fully localised game for Korean users,” he added.

More through there.

Never saw this coming. In an interview with Strategy Informer, Funcom’s admitted that the Xbox 360 version of Age of Conan it’s been promising for the last couple of years may not be top of the “things to do” queue.

“Development on the Xbox 360 version is not our key priority as there are a massive amount of PC gamers already playing the game, and we rightly have the focus on them,” said product director Jørgen Tharaldsen.

“While there is a dedicated specialist project team working on Xbox, the PC version will remain our top priority for now.”

The console version’s supposed to be out next year. Not entirely sure we believe it’s going to make it, if we’re being honest.

More through the link.

Funcom co-founder Gaute Godage has quit Funcom after becoming “dissatisfied” with Age of Conan, the company’s announced.

“I have done my very best making this fabulous game, but I have concluded there are elements which I am dissatisfied with,” said the exec.

“I have decided to act on this, and as a result I have chosen to leave Funcom.”

Godage is to be replaced by Anarchy Online game director Craig Morrison, who previously worked at Funcom as a community manager.

“It is time to get new, fresh eyes on Age of Conan, and I wholeheartedly support the appointment of Craig,” added Godage.

“I have had a fantastic time these last 16 years, and I am very proud of the many things Funcom has achieved. Funcom and Conan will always be a big part of me, but as I now look to new ventures outside the gaming industry I am certain Age of Conan’s future is in the best of hands.”

Press release after the link.

Funcom appoints new Producer and Game Director for Age of Conan

- Funcom announce that Craig Morrison has been appointed as the new Producer and Game Director for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures -

Durham, USA – September 17, 2008 – Funcom announce that Craig Morrison has been appointed as the new Producer and Game Director for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Craig Morrison has served as the Producer and Game Director on Anarchy Online for several years, as well as working as the Funcom Community Manager prior to that. Funcom believes he is the perfect candidate to take Age of Conan to the next level. Mr. Morrison will replace former Producer and Game Director Gaute Godager.

Prior to starting at Funcom in 2004, Craig Morrison worked as an Operations Executive at the Telegraph group, the respected UK newspaper, taking care of operational aspects related to IT and Customer Service. Due to his passion for MMO games he simultaneously worked as an Associate Editor at IGN’s Vault Network, managing dedicated websites for several MMO games. He has extensive experience in managing various sized teams and complex projects across large media based environments. He has also played, written about, managed, produced and directed MMO games for over a decade by now. With his passion and unique skill-set he brings proven MMO experience to his new position, and during his years as Producer on Anarchy Online he has shown a unique ability to tailor development according to the needs and requirements of the players.

“Taking on the position as Producer and Game Director on Age of Conan is a great challenge but also one I welcome. I have a clear conviction I can lead the further development in a good way, evolving Age of Conan into something even better. My main priority now is therefore to listen to, and act on, player concerns, while ensuring we add additional great content to the game,” said Craig Morrison. “At heart I will always be a gamer, and the coming changes and additions to Conan will always be done with the gamers in mind. Together I am certain we will shape an amazing future for Age of Conan.”

Former Producer and Game Director Gaute Godager has chosen to resign from Funcom after working on Age of Conan since the initial conception, and he leaves the company after 16 years. Godager was one of the original founders of Funcom, and leaves a large legacy, having contributed to making Funcom the largest MMO company in Europe. “I have done my very best making this fabulous game, but I have concluded there are elements which I am dissatisfied with. I have decided to act on this, and as a result I have chosen to leave Funcom. It is time to get new, fresh eyes on Age of Conan, and I wholeheartedly support the appointment of Craig. I have had a fantastic time these last 16 years, and I am very proud of the many things Funcom has achieved. Funcom and Conan will always be a big part of me, but as I now look to new ventures outside the gaming industry I am certain Age of Conan’s future is in the best of hands.”

Funcom’s put out episode four of Hyborian Insider, it’s movie update on Age of Conan, showing upcoming DX10 graphical features in the MMO as well as new high level content.

Dynamic tree shadowing, improved parallax mapping, rippling grass, specular reflections, underwater God rays and tons more are shown off in the movie, which you can see after the break. The DX10 stuff starts at about 3:10.

No dates on when this stuff’s going to be added to the game, but it’s well worth a look. So do. Be mindful of a few spoilers in there, though.

The game “will be available for an additional 10 percent off for one week until Sept 11.”

Go buy it, if you haven’t all ready. Everyone needs to wear a bit of fur and mess around with a giant sword once in their life.

Funcom has told Eurogamer that an Xbox 360 version of Age of Conan will definitely be released.

“The Xbox 360 version is still very much set to happen and we are working on it,” said company man Erling Ellingsen.

“However, there are no dates set, even though we aim for a 2009 release. Our big priority now is, of course, the PC version and fixing the issues with it and improving it for our current players.”

More through the link.

As you can see in this onlinewelten.com movie from Leipzig last week, Funcom’s Erling Ellingson has confirmed that Age of Conan has more than 400,000 paying subscribers.

The news comes after a Funcom financial report put the number of “customers” playing in the MMO at 415,000, but confusion reigned as to whether or not this included people playing on their free trial.

Thanks, Massively.

“The movie is set for release next year, and it’s going to be a huge movie. Lionsgate recently announced that they’re putting a hundred million dollars into it,” said Ellingsen.

“We have a very close relationship with the guys making the movie,” he went on. “I had lunch with the producer just the other day. We’re talking to them all the time.

“Yes, we will tie the two together.”

More through the link.

By Mike Bowden

The expansion pack is expected to release sometime in 2009.

Funcom had no comment.

More through the link.

By Mike Bowden

From the piece:

In today’s patch, among a host of class changes and other crunchy bits, there are a lot of fixes and alterations to massive PvP, which should make a big difference for the players who have reached level 80 and were looking forward to this feature working properly.

Full patch notes through the link.

By Mike Bowden

The game sold in 1.2 million units, and sold through (customers who have entered game client key and billing info) 800,000 copies to customers.

More on Edge.

Never-before-seen locations, content and features from the MMO are going to be on show in Leipzig, so barbarian fans have every reason to be cheerful.

Press release after the link.

DirectX10 features in Age of Conan exclusively revealed at Games Convention

- New locations, content and features to be revealed for both press and consumers at the show – - Thousands of exclusive give-aways, including free trial accounts and limited edition game DVDs -

Durham, USA – August 15th, 2008 – Conan is invading this year’s Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany. Funcom and Eidos invites everyone to come join the festivities at his majesty’s outpost located at stand B10 in Hall 5. Behind the tall walls of the King’s fortress press and gamers alike can play the game, meet and chat with the developers, collect amazing give-aways and observe live stage shows where Funcom will reveal and demonstrate brand new and never-before-seen locations, content and features that will be put into the recently launched massively multiplayer online game ‘Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’ in the months ahead.

“We are very pleased with the tremendously successful launch that we had,” says Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Funcom, Morten Larssen. “But this is where the real journey starts for ‘Age of Conan’. In the months ahead we will be putting a lot of effort into expanding and improving on the game, and we look forward to using the Games Convention to unveil some of the locations, content and features we have in the pipeline.”

During the live stage shows Funcom will present new locations, content and features coming to ‘Age of Conan’. Blue Orb Inc. will also be present to demonstrate how you can use their software to play ‘Age of Conan’ with a gamepad, while the guys behind ‘TripleHead2Go’ have prepared a machine with a three screen setup so that gamers can come and play ‘Age of Conan’ in all its unprecedented visual glory using cutting-edge technology. Funcom will also be giving away exciting loot such as the legendary inflatable swords and free trial accounts together with limited edition DVDs containing the entire game. This is the first time Funcom hands out free trials and the supply is limited, so we encourage you to make your way to Conan’s outpost as soon as possible!

Behind closed doors members of the press will also be treated to a presentation of exclusive DirectX10 features, technology that will add even more power to the spectacular graphics featured in the game. Press interested in attending these presentations should contact Funcom, but please note that seating is very limited at this point.

‘Age of Conan’ launched in May this year and immediately topped sales charts around the world. It has received more than thirty magazine covers and more than fifteen major awards, including numerous “Best MMO of E3″ awards and the “Best Online Game of Show” award at GC 2007. The game has received numerous glowing reviews, including a 9.4 score from US website GameZone. ‘Age of Conan’ is a key title in Microsoft’s Games for Windows line-up, as well as a showcase title for nVidia thanks to its jaw-dropping graphics.

For more information on the game and instructions on how to order your copy today, visit www.ageofconan.com.

Funcom looks forward to seeing everyone at the Games Convention – we will be at stand B10 in Hall 5!

According to this Avison story, Funcom’s sacked an Age of Conan GM for cybering with a player.

“We are aware of this matter, and necessary measures have been taken against them,” said a Funcom rep. “We have clear guidelines for all employees in Funcom, not least those who work with customer service, and if the guidelines are broken there are consequences.”

The worst part of all this is that the GM was set up. Read the transcript of what happened here, complete with screens. It’s not pretty.

Thanks, Destructoid.

The new WoW release is the fifth European-language version, complementing the existing English, French, German, and Spanish versions. More here.

Age of Conan is to be distributed in Russia by 1C. More on GameDaily.

Big-name MMO? Sizeable player base? Stock value dip of 55 percent? One of these things is not like the other. According to Massively, Age of Conan publisher Funcom has seen a mystifying downturn in its stock value since Age of Conan launched.

Dropping from $54 to $24 per share, you’d think Funcom would have serious cause for concern. However, as Massively points out, Funcom shares were sporting a consistent $25 price tag before the Age of Conan pre-release hype began. Odds are, this sharp drop is merely a return to normalcy.

For more analysis and a chart just begging to be made into a level for Line Rider, check out the link.

By Nathan Grayson

From the piece:

“When will Age of Conan be complete enough for a full review?” His answer? “About a month.”So there you go folks, directly from the product manager. Age of Conan should be review ready in a month, when the PVP portions are firmly in place.

The game has been available at retail since June so we find that comment rather puzzling, but there you go.

By Mike Bowden

Take a look.

“That Age of Conan remains #1 in retail stores several weeks after release is of incredible importance to us, and proves that the game has a large potential beyond the early adopters,” said Funcom marketing head Morten Larssen.

“With more than 700.000 accounts created so far we have a fantastic platform to build from, and we will continue our marketing spend to further drive numbers in the months to come. It also means that Funcom can dedicate significant development resources on evolving the game even further, naturally giving us a great hope for the future of Age of Conan.”

Hardcore. Press release after the link.

Age of Conan continues to dominate retail charts

- The best selling PC game of May continues to hold the #1 spot in most markets – - More than 700.000 gamers have registered an Age of Conan account so far -

Durham, USA – June 30, 2008 – Eidos and Funcom are proud to announce that Age of Conan continues to dominate the PC sales charts in all markets where the game is available. Over the last few weeks it has remained the overall #1 PC game in most European markets, whilst also performing tremendously well on several all-format charts. In the US, Age of Conan impressively conquered the #1 PC spot for the first two weeks of available NPD data. Due to the amazing interest surrounding the game, more than 700.000 gamers have now signed up for an Age of Conan account. In the second month after release it is also clear that Age of Conan has taken the position as the undisputed #2 subscription MMO in the western world.

When Age of Conan stormed into retail stores as what we believe to be the most pre-ordered original PC game in history, it instantly became the best selling PC game of May. The pace at which Age of Conan sold made it one of the fastest selling PC games of all times, and Funcom and Eidos are therefore very satisfied to see the positive sales trend continue. As all countries report sales differently, it is not possible to get a complete overview of the exact box sales at the time of writing, but Age of Conan remains the top selling PC game in most all released markets. This includes being the #1 overall PC game in June in the Nordic countries, Oceania, Germany, France and Spain, as well a top three contender in all other markets where the game is out. No substantial sales data for June is yet available from the US market, but Age of Conan was the #1 PC game in the latest official NPD update.

“That Age of Conan remains #1 in retail stores several weeks after release is of incredible importance to us, and proves that the game has a large potential beyond the early adopters,” said Morten Larssen, VP of Sales & Marketing in Funcom. “With more than 700.000 accounts created so far we have a fantastic platform to build from, and we will continue our marketing spend to further drive numbers in the months to come. It also means that Funcom can dedicate significant development resources on evolving the game even further, naturally giving us a great hope for the future of Age of Conan.”

“We are incredibly pleased to see Age of Conan turning into an MMO phenomenon,” said Gaute Godager, Game Director on Age of Conan. “As an MMO company we know that a good start is just the beginning for a virtual world. All we care about now is to make Age of Conan into an even better game, and we have extensive plans to ensure that Age of Conan remains a top MMO alternative for many years to come.”

For more information about the game or to sign up for the community, please visit www.ageofconan.com