Age of Conan Goes Free-to-Play This Summer

Just after announcing a movie tie-in adventure pack titled “The Savage Coast of Turan”, Age of Conan executive producer Craig Morrison told Eurogamer that the title will go free-to-play this summer.

“The time is right for Age of Conan now as we recognised the opportunity presented by the increased profile of the license, with the new Conan movie coming out this Fall,” he explained.

“That meant that we felt that the time had come to make the switch to ensure we had the best possible position and availability for when that interests increases, so that we could draw in even more users to this wonderful world that we have brought to life.”

Free users will still be able to reach up to level 80 and will play on the same servers as everyone else, but will need to pay for some premium items. The game will undergo a title change too, from Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures to Age of Conan: Unrated, as if to mark just how dramatic this reboot is.

Update: The press release is in…

‘˜Age of Conan’ goes FREE and UNRATED
 
Award-winning MMO ‘˜Age of Conan’ soon available in a savage, sexy and brutal UNRATED version featuring a hybrid business model
 
Durham, USA May 25th, 2011 Funcom is excited to announce that the award-winning and critically acclaimed massively multiplayer online game ‘˜Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’ will receive a digital re-launch this summer under the new name ‘˜Age of Conan: Unrated’. As well as reaffirming its position as the sexiest and most savage MMO in the world, ‘˜Age of Conan: Unrated’ will also feature a hybrid business model allowing anyone to freely roam the vast lands of Hyboria either as free players or premium subscribers with access to extra content.
 
(With over 1.4 million copies sold, glowing reviews for both the core game as well as the expansion, and a healthy player base ever since launch in 2008, there is no doubt that ‘˜Age of Conan’ has been a true success story for Funcom,) says SVP of Sales & Marketing Morten Larssen. (Now we turn to another chapter in this story as we thrust ‘˜Age of Conan: Unrated’ into the world of free-to-play games, a gaming space that is becoming rapidly more popular and profitable across the board.)
 
The new business model will give players the opportunity to choose whether they want to play for free or become premium subscribers, and Funcom is also introducing an in-game store to the game where both free players and premium subscribers can purchase exclusive content such as weaponry and mounts. For a full overview of what differs from the free and premium offerings, please view the Frequently Asked Questions now available on ‘˜Age of Conan’ community website.

‘˜Age of Conan’ has always been a Mature gaming experience, but going Unrated gives the development team freedom to stay even more true to the original works of Conan author Robert E. Howard, and use even more of the barbaric, brutal and sexy setting that is Howard’s Hyboria. Funcom is already in the process of developing new locations, monsters, equipment and storylines for ‘˜Age of Conan: Unrated’. This includes the movie tie-in adventure pack announced yesterday, that will introduce content and characters from the upcoming ‘˜Conan the Barbarian’ movie.

(Everyone on the team is excited about opening up our world to an even larger audience,) says Creative Director and Executive Producer Craig Morrison. (The online world of Hyboria is constantly expanding as we continue to introduce new gameplay features and new content, and we truly believe that ‘˜Age of Conan: Unrated’ will offer something truly new and unique to both new players and to those have already experienced the brutal online world of Conan the Barbarian.)

Launching in May 2008 ‘˜Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’ quickly became a smash hit in retail, shipping over 1.4 million copies around the world. In the weeks after launch ‘˜Age of Conan’ simultaneously topped the charts in 17 countries, and the game received critical acclaim from gaming press across the globe. ‘˜Age of Conan’ is now available in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian and Polish localized versions, and has also launched in Korea.

ABOUT FUNCOM – Funcom is an independent developer and publisher of online games for PC and consoles. Funcom has provided outstanding entertainment since 1993 and continues to expand its track-record of more than twenty released games. Recent titles include ‘˜Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’, ‘˜The Longest Journey’, ‘Anarchy Online’ and ‘Dreamfall: The Longest Journey’. For corporate information please visit www.funcom.com. For information about Funcom games visit www.anarchy-online.com www.dreamfall.com, www.fashionworldlive.com, www.thesecretworld.com or www.ageofconan.com. Funcom is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker FUNCOM.
 
ABOUT CONAN PROPERTIES INTERNATIONAL – Conan Properties International LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Paradox Entertainment Inc., controls rights to Conan, many associated characters and the Hyborian world, as created by Robert E. Howard and various rights expanded upon by many acclaimed authors and artists.  Many consider Conan the world’s best-known fantasy character.  For more information about Conan Properties International LLC, visit www.conan.com.  For information about Paradox Entertainment Inc., visit www.paradox-entertainment.com.