Which upcoming MMOs are you looking forward to? IGN Vault has a new poll up asking that very same question. Stop by to show your support for The Secret World!

As first reported on Massive Gamer, the rumour mill is spinning with news that Funcom has laid off a healthy number of their North American employees. No official confirmation has been made as of yet.

According to anonymous sources, Funcom has just laid off a large number of their North American staff. The rumor has the victims being mostly QA. It’s hard to blame the sources for being anonymous – the process may not be over, and yammering to a news site could move a person up to the top of the next chop list.

According to a post by Tulkas in the official TSW forum, Funcom’s ex-financial controller, Jan Inge Torgersen, is leaving the Funcom board, and is being replaced by Frank Sagnier. He used to be the European VP of marketing for Electronic Arts, and more recently worked for Double Fusion, which specializes in placing products in video games. So could Frank Sagnier be involved in guiding an in-game ad campaign for TSW? /Shrug. Personally I think in-game ads are rather fun if done correctly on billboards and such. You can read some community opinions in the originating thread and you can see an example of ad placement at Double Fusion.

Has anyone noticed that The Secret World Poster and Ragnar Tornquist’s Blog both use the Shaun of the Dead font? Hrm… yes, I told you it was a deep thought. Shoot me, it’s a Sunday.

If you’re of the Norwegian persuasion then stop by Gamer.no for a new editorial on The Secret World. In the official TSW forum, Memo has taken the time to do a quick ‘n dirty Google translation, so English folk can probably get the general gyst of the article there. A summary: No news. Status report, wishful thinking and what they think the game needs to succeed.

The hammering has almost stopped here on Funcom’s Secret, so it’s time to open the door a crack! This site is dedicated to following (or stalking if you prefer) Funcom and their newest project, The Secret World!

Slap us a bookmark or subscribe to the RSS Feed, I hope to bring you plenty of news, TSW updates and some feature lovin’. Stay tuned… In the meantime, feel free to make fun of my site design and what not.

I’d also like to toss out a thanks to Wiki TSW, since I used them to catch up on some screenshots I couldn’t find!

Funcom’s Oslo job opportunities are pretty hot right now with plenty of openings to work on The Secret World. Wasn’t too long ago that all of the vacant spots were for Age of Conan. If you’re looking to break into the game industry and have some mad skills then check out the ads below!

Durham, USA – November 14th, 2008 – This week Funcom updated the ‘Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’ live servers with the largest gameplay content addition since launch. By visiting the vast, new outdoor area of Ymir’s Pass players will now be able to find new quests to solve, new characters to meet, new monsters to slay and a dramatic new storyline to unravel. The update also includes a new dungeon – The Amphitheater – that holds one of the most epic and memorable monster encounters ever created for the game.

“This is an important update that opens up a lot of new gameplay content for players who have already passed the level fifty mark,” says Game Director Craig Morrison. “In the months ahead we will introduce even more new content, and coming up soon are two exciting new high-level dungeons intended for players who have reached the maximum level. At this stage adding more content and keeping people entertained is very important to us!”

Read More!

Funcom’s November 12 2008, Q3 2008 report is now out (.pdf). Some interesting stuff in there, check out highlights below:

Financial

• Increased revenues due to Age of Conan.
• Steady revenues from Anarchy Online.
• MMO Success Criteria and Age of Conan Status.
• Short Term and Long Term Focus for Age of Conan.
• Goals: More compelling RPG ruleset, more content utilizing improved ruleset.

Feature Updates

• Q4 2008: Ymir’s Pass, DX10, 2 High Level Dungeons.
• Q1 2009: New Item/RPG system, 1-2 new playfields, new dungeons.
• Q2-Q3 2009: Continuous updates with high end content and systems.
• Q4 2009: Expansion.

Sales and Marketing

• Free trial offers (Q4 2008 – Q1 2009).
• Polish and Russian launches.
• Loyalty program for long-time subscribers (Q1 2009).

The Secret World – Status

• 4 playfields close to complete.
• 4-5 playfields in development.
• Large asset library developed.
• Implementing RPG and combat system.
• 70 people working on project.
• PR and community building commencing early 2009.

The Secret World – Backgrounds

• Funcom created brand.
• Explore a secret world within our world where every mystery, myth, conspiracy theory and urban legend is true.
• MMO gaming combined with Alternate Reality Gaming and social networking.
• Funcom’s proprietary DreamWorld tech.
• PC and Xbox 360 platforms.

Durham, USA – November 12th, 2008 – Funcom is proud to announce that ‘Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’ will be launching in Korea. Online media publisher Neowiz Games will be responsible for publishing the highly acclaimed massively multiplayer online game, and will be working closely with Funcom in producing an adapted and fully localized Korean version. Neowiz Games will act as a full service provider, handling everything from distribution to customer service and community management.

“Bringing ‘Age of Conan’ to Korea is something we have wanted to do for a long time now,” says Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas. “This is a very exciting and highly dynamic market, and we know that Korean gamers are amongst the most active online gamers in the world. With their solid legacy in online gaming, Neowiz Games is one of the most successful and knowledgeable companies in the market and we are very pleased to be working with them.”

“We are very excited to introduce the world class large scale MMORPG, ‘Age of Conan’ with it’s popularity and great reputation in the industry” says Neowiz Games CEO 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 localized game for Korean users”

The Korean release of ‘Age of Conan’ will include all updates and content added to the game after the US and European launch. It is also important for both Funcom and Neowiz Games to adapt the game to the local market, and the two companies will work closely together in making sure ‘Age of Conan’ meets gamers’ expectations. A release date for the Korean version of ‘Age of Conan’ has not yet been finalized.

‘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.