Funcom put out a press release today about using the Highwinds content delivery system to dish out there online games. With The Secret World set to launch on June 19, and over 750,000 beta sign-ups, I guess they figure they’ll be needing top notch content delivery. What better way to get it than butter up your new provider with a flattering press release? I just found it interesting to know that over 750k have registered for beta, and that number will likely rise significantly once Funcom really starts some hardcore TSW pimpage.
This is very unfortunate news as gamesindustry.biz reports on Funcom layoffs and the delay of The Secret World. Apparently Funcom will cut its workforce by 20% to cut costs. As a result, The Secret World will be delayed by a few months while they re-organize. This comes as fairly unexpected news considering the company recently announced it would be opening a new studio in Quebec, Canada. But apparently by shifting their workforce to the Canada, they will be able to take advantage of a salary reimbursement from the Quebec government.
At VE3D, Andrew runs down the details of the latest Funcom financial report. They’ve reported a strong first quarter, revenue has gone up and Age of Conan subscriptions have seen a significant increase. There are currently 120 employees still working on AoC content and improvements, excluding customer service.
Additionally, in-game player time has also increased. Funcom plans to release significant enhancements in the coming months, and they are also developing ways to reduce the size of the game client download, to ease the burden on those wanting to check out the free trial. We’ll see yet another marketing blitz coming from them, focused on bringing back former players.
The Secret World development team is now up to 100 members, and a significant milestone was completed on May 7th. Included was the first iteration of the game’s combat system, character creator, dungeon, 11 near complete zones, content development tools and the first cut-scene.
Funcom also reported that the first Secret World trailer has been viewed by around one million gamers, and that the level of interest in the game is higher than Age of Conan received at a similar stage of development.
You can view the 89 page Funcom Annual Report for 2008 in .pdf form. We’ll run down some highlights for you.
- Age of Conan pre-sold more than any original PC game launch in history, with 1.2 million copies of the game shipped to retailers.
- Anarchy Online will celebrate its eight year anniversary in June 2009.
- A new Game Director for Anarchy Online was appointed, and his team spearheaded the development of the new booster pack, Legacy of Xan.
- By the end of 2008 over 300 full-time employees were working with Funcom, located in offices in Switzerland, Norway, USA and China.
- Some operations were scaled back after the launch of Age of Conan, including Customer Service and Quality Assurance, while other teams saw growth, most notably in China.
- In 2008 Funcom started development of two Free-To-Play MMOs, with continued development on The Secret World and Anarchy Online.
- In addition to developing two F2P MMOs, Funcom has begun the research phase on a third.
- Funcom aims to emerge as a leading independent developer of F2P games.
- Funcom continues to invest in Age of Conan and expect the next 6-9 months to show whether they can once again enter a growth phase with the game.
- Funcom’s next large scale MMO, The Secret World, has started PR.
- Free-To-Play MMOs in beta testing.
- Funcom continues to develop their DreamWorld Engine, and have about 30 programmers working on it.
- In 2008 Funcom sold its interest in Plutolife, which concluded its involvement in the mobile gaming sector.
- In January and February 2009 the Group launched localized versions of Age of Conan in Poland and Russia with positive gamer and press recentpion.
- On February 23, 2009 Olav Sandnes gave notice of resignation as CFO. Mr. Sandnes left the company to take up a new position in a different industry.
- On March 5, 2009 options to acquire shares were granted to key personnel in Funcom.
Financial Calendar for 2009
Monday, 23 February – Q4 2008
Friday, 15 May – Q1 2009
Wednesday, 26 August – Q2 2009
Thursday, 12 November – Q3 2009
All financial bits have been left out to avoid putting anyone to sleep.
Quest for the Flag is a new site dedicated to bringing people together to raise $15,000 and win an auction for Roald Amundsen’s Expedition Flag. Roald Amundsen led the first Antarctic Expedition to the South Pole and is also the first person to reach both the North and South Poles. Amundsen was a central figure in the initial reveal and story for Funcom’s upcoming MMORPG, The Secret World. The auction is taking place on May 7th, and if the group wins the flag they will return it to Norway and present is to Funcom’s Ragnar Tørnquist, producer of TSW. You can read more about the community venture at Quest for the Flag.
Durham, USA – April 7th, 2009 – Dark days are coming. The words are now everywhere. After deciding to make the development its next massively multiplayer online game a little less secret, Funcom have now released information, artworks and the first ever trailer video for ‘The Secret World’. Journalists across the world recently had the chance to sit down and talk to game director Ragnar Tørnquist about the new game and hear his vision, thus generating reports on websites everywhere such as Eurogamer, GameTrailers, and MMORPG.com.
“It is great to finally be able to talk about The Secret World, after several years in the dark,” says senior producer and director Ragnar Tørnquist. “The real world is such a rich and fascinating setting for an MMO, and we are able to draw inspiration from ancient history, stories of lost cities and forgotten civilizations, folktales, urban legends, conspiracy theories and pop culture. We are building a game that mixes modern day Earth with terrifying monsters, dark and occult magic, cool weapons and awesome powers – and it’s unlike anything you have ever seen before in an MMO.”
‘The Secret World’ takes place in our own, modern-day world. Players can explore locations such as New York, London, and Seoul, as they unravel the mysteries, legends and myths that make up our world and its history. But the real and realistic will clash with the unreal and fantastical, as the darkness of the secret world approaches. Not only will ‘The Secret World’ offer a setting never before experienced in an MMO, Funcom is also expanding on the genre standards by introducing gameplay that is not based on classes or levels. Players will have the freedom to become whatever they want to be and play however they want to play, allowing them to explore the world at will and master anything from voodoo and black magic to martial arts and modern firearms.
By following this link you can download a fact sheet, artworks, and the first ever trailer video for ‘The Secret World’. These assets are meant to capture the spirit and vision of the game and its world, giving the viewer a small, but significant glimpse into what can be expected when the game is launched. Funcom have also made updates to the official website – www.darkdaysarecoming.com – and gamers are now invited to leave their name and e-mail. In the future, exclusive information will be provided to those who choose to sign up.
Monsieur AoC Game Director, Craig ‘Silirrion’ Morrison, has posted some job ads in the official forums. Want to be part of team Conan?
Flash / UI Designer
Funcom is seeking an experienced and motivated UI artist to join the ‘Age of Conan’ team. The UI artist will assist in the design, improvement and implementation of the games interface, and will work closely with the design and programming teams, producers and art directors to prototype and iterate new interface functionality.
Expert experience with Adobe Flash and Adobe Photoshop are required. The ideal candidate will possess sound aesthetic design fundamentals, including illustration and animation skills and preferably have good working understanding of intuitive human interface principles.
[Full details and how to apply]
Environment Artist
Want to be a part of the team that builds and shapes the world itself in Age of Conan? Funcom is looking for talented artists to join our team in Oslo responsible for Environment and World-building.
[Full details and how to apply]
AI Designer
Funcom is seeking a talented designer and scripter to work on the content creation process. Working as part of the design team this individual will be responsible for the scripting of game-play actions and encounters.
[Full details and how to apply]
In a new interview with Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas, GameIndustry.biz was informed that both the console version of Age of Conan and The Secret World are both still on track. They also get into the recent Funcom layoffs, and the CEO explains that the need for QA is normally reduced when the first six months of a live project is over.
“The changes in the US Customer Service operations are partly a result of certain functions being moved to Europe as well as adjustments to reflect the current subscriber levels. Improvements in the game have also led to less demand for Customer Service personnel, something we are of course very happy about.”
The evolution of Age of Conan since launch has been useful for the team working on The Secret World, influencing design and providing improved technical assistance, said Arne Aas.
“The development of The Secret World continues and we are expanding the development team at a steady pace.
“This is a very exciting project for us, and the team working on it has been able to draw on the innovations of Age of Conan for quite some time now – especially from a technological standpoint.”
You can read the full interview here.
I noticed some Funcom job updates on the Oslo Job Listings Page. They are primarily for The Secret World but also include a 360 programmer and a Text Coordinator for Age of Conan.
Art
- Assistant Art Director – The Secret World
- Concept Artist – The Secret World
- Graphic Designer (Web)/ GUI Artist – The Secret World
- Senior Character Artist – The Secret World
Design
- GUI Designer – The Secret World
- Web Developer – The Secret World
- Writer – The Secret World
Other
- Text Coordinator – Age of Conan
Production
- Associate Producer – The Secret World
Programming
- 360 Programmer
- Java Programmer – The Casual Game
- Rendering Programmer
MTV Multiplayer follows up on Funcom’s recent staff cuts to find out if they will affect Age of Conan PC or the Xbox 360 version of the game. Erling Ellingsen had the following to say:
“Our aim is for this to not affect development of ‘Age of Conan,’ or any of our other games, at all. We are sticking firmly to our plans. The Xbox 360 version of the game is still in production, but as before we are not committing to any specific dates. I wish I could give you more information, but I can’t at the time being.”
