Funcom Banks $30 Million for Age of Conan

Independent publisher and developer Funcom (The Longest Journey, Anarchy Online) today announced it had received $30 million in private placement funding. The company will use the cash to support the development of its future lineup, including the upcoming MMO Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. "We're expecting the launch of Age of Conan to create significant waves in the MMO gamespace," said Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas. "With the secured additional funding Funcom is in an even better position to make the launch of the game a success. This commitment from the financial market is reflecting the great promise and expectations for Age of Conan." Based on the Conan universe created by Robert E. Howard, Age of Conan boasts two unusual features for an MMO: a brutal, action-oriented combat system, and an offline single-player component. The game is slated for release on October 30th, for PC and Xbox 360. While the company noted that its operational and marketing capacities will be increased in support of the Conan launch, it also has several future projects under development that could potentially benefit from the growth. In March, Funcom announced Dreamfall Chapters, an episodic continuation of designer Ragnar Tornquist's adventure series The Longest Journey. Tornquist will be heading the project, which will initially see release on PC via online distribution. Following that announcement, last month Tornquist was tied to another Funcom project--this time an MMO titled The Secret World (PC, X360). Unlike the majority of massive online games, The Secret World will take place in a contemporary setting, and feature supernatural elements that guide players to the truth behind various mysteries.