Age of Conan Open Beta Starts May 1st

Funcom sent us over a press release this afternoon announcing a partnership with IGN to allow 50,000 players into the Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures open beta test on May 1st.

Heads will roll as Age of Conan moves into Open Beta

– Open Beta exclusively available through FilePlanet.com and partner IGN sites

– 50.000 aspiring barbarians may enter Hyboria on May 1st

Durham, USA April 17th, 2008 Funcom, Eidos and IGN are proud to announce that Open Beta for Age of Conan will start on May 1. The Open Beta will be hosted exclusively by IGN’s popular game download site, FilePlanet.com, as well as being offered through partner IGN sites such as Gamespy.com, Tentonhammer.com and Warcry.com. The application pages at FilePlanet.com are now open for registrations, and gamers from across the world can sign up. As 50.000 gamers prepare their Hyborian assault, rivers of blood are about to flow, and it’s exclusively available through FilePlanet and IGN partner sites.

(When we started development of Age of Conan four and a half years ago we truly wanted to move away from the standards of the MMO genre. We wanted to bring something new, exciting and fresh to the gamers,) said Gaute Godager, Game Director on Age of Conan. (As we get ready to show everyone what Conan’s savage world is all about, we need final stress testing. Teaming up with the Beta Masters at IGN was a perfect opportunity for us! We simply couldn’t ask for a better partner for this crucial stage of our Beta.)

(The IGN and FilePlanet audience has consistently told us that Age of Conan is one of their most anticipated games of the year, and we are very pleased to partner with Funcom and Eidos on the Open Beta,) says Senior Vice President of Consumer Products at IGN, Jamie Berger. (The Funcom team has developed a truly unique, visceral gaming experience that players will have to see to believe.)

Funcom would like to point out that the primary function of the Open Beta is to stress test Age of Conan prior to launch. This means that Funcom will not make the entire game available to the Open Beta testers, and a level 13 cap will be applied. The Beta experience will still give hours and hours of entertainment, and complete class and culture variety, while at the same time giving Funcom the needed focus for an Open Beta.

You are required to be a FilePlanet member in order to sign up for the Open Beta. Preloading of the client will start prior to the launch of the Open Beta, and applicants will receive more information should they receive a beta key. The Open Beta will start on the 1st of May at 1500 GMT / 0900 EST.

Age of Conan is consistently mentioned as one of the most anticipated PC games in development. It has received more than twenty-five covers on high-profile gaming magazines across the globe and more than fifteen major awards, including numerous “Best MMO of E3” awards and the official “Best Online Game” award at the Games Convention 2007. Age of Conan is a key title in Microsoft’s Games for Windows line-up, and a showcase title for nVidia. The game is set to launch in several territories on May 20th, 2008.
For more information on Age of Conan either in English, German, French or Spanish visit the official website at http://www.ageofconan.com where you also can access the respective community websites.

About Funcom – Funcom is an independent developer and publisher of online games for PC, consoles and mobile platforms. Funcom has provided outstanding entertainment since 1993 and continues to expand its track-record of more than twenty released games. Recent titles include ‘The Longest Journey’, ‘Anarchy Online’ and ‘Dreamfall: The Longest Journey’. For corporate information please visit http://www.funcom.com. For information about Funcom games visit http://www.anarchy-online.com, http://www.dreamfall.com, http://www.darkdaysarecoming.com or http://www.ageofconan.com. Funcom is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker FUNCOM.

About Eidos Interactive Ltd – Eidos Interactive Ltd is part of SCi Entertainment Group Plc (SEG) creators of some of the world’s leading videogame properties. Eidos consists of offices across Europe and the US and several development studios including Crystal Dynamics, IO Interactive, Beautiful Game Studios and Eidos Montreal. The Group has a valuable combined portfolio of intellectual property including: Tomb Raider, Hitman, Deus Ex, Championship Manager and Just Cause.

About IGN Entertainment: IGN Entertainment, a unit of Fox Interactive Media, Inc., is a leading Internet media and services provider focused on the videogame and entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, IGN’s properties reached more than 30 million unique users worldwide in the month of February 2008, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore Media Metrix. IGN’s network of videogame-related properties (IGN.com, GameSpy, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, Direct2Drive and others), is the Web’s number one videogame information destination and attracts one of the largest concentrated audiences of young males on the Internet. IGN also owns and operates the popular movie-related Web site, Rotten Tomatoes and one of the leading male lifestyle Web sites, AskMen.com. In addition, IGN provides technology for online game play in videogames. IGN is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices throughout the U.S. and in Montreal.

ABOUT CONAN PROPERTIES INTERNATIONAL LLC – 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 http://www.conan.com. For information about Paradox Entertainment Inc., visit http://www.paradox-entertainment.com.