Eidos picks up delayed Conan MMORPG, developing console version

  • By Tor Thorsen, Guy Cocker, GameSpot
  • Posted Jul 24, 2006 10:26 am PT

British publisher to distribute Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures in the US and Europe; game now pushed to mid-2007--and confirmed for unnamed consoles.

Since it was released in fall 2004, World of Warcraft has been the subject of many publishers' envy. The massively multiplayer online role-playing game helped the revenue of Vivendi Games, owner of WOW's developer-publisher Blizzard Entertainment, climb 18.6 percent year-on-year during the first quarter of 2006.

Now, Eidos Interactive is the latest publishing giant to jump on the MMORPG bandwagon. The British publisher, which was bought last year by SCi Entertainment, has secured distribution rights to Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. The deal will have Eidos publish the boxed copy of the game in North America, Europe, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Conan's Norway-based developer, Funcom, will "operate servers and provide customer service for the game and collect and retain subscription revenues."

The deal marks the first time that Eidos has become involved with either an MMORPG or a game based on the Conan character. The fictional barbarian was created by the late author Robert E. Howard in print during the 1930s and played by Arnold Schwarzenegger on film in the 1980s. (The Conan films also costarred Japanese-American character actor Mako, who succumbed to cancer over the weekend.) The franchise has since spawned novels, comic books, and a short-lived television series starring German bodybuilder Ralf Moeller (Gladiator).

Funcom has previous experience in the online role-playing genre, having published Anarchy Online in 2001 and its subsequent expansions. With Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, which GameSpot voted the best MMORPG of E3 2006, the company is taking a more action-oriented approach. The game will begin as a 20-hour single-player game in which gamers will create a specialized character before heading into a sprawling multiplayer online campaign.

Unfortunately, today's announcement also brought news that Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures has been delayed. Previously earmarked with an Q1 2007 release date, the game is now due to hit PCs in "March to May" 2007. It is currently in the beta phase of development, according to Funcom.

However, the Eidos-Funcom deal does have some good news for those unable to buy a PC capable of handling Age of Conan's high-end graphics. The announcement promises that "Funcom and SCi/Eidos will also cooperate to bring the game to the console market." Though no specific platforms were mentioned, unconfirmed reports have indicated an Xbox 360 version is in development.

30 Comments

  • Scott762x51

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 11:02 pm PT

    This game is the best choice of all the other MMO's that are out or are currently ready to come out.

  • armouredpriest

    Posted Jul 29, 2006 8:14 pm PT

    Was playing FF XI, but became wore out on it. MMOs in general are antithetical to the way I prefer to play video games. Still, I'm looking forward to Conan (Love the stories) and if the developers can pull off some of the stuff they are trying to do in the game, it will be a very viceral, gritty game. Speaking of Schwarzenegger doing another Conan movie, I'd heard rumor he had agreed to do "King Conan" (He's about the right age for that role) right before he was elected to office. It's still on the back burner, so we may yet see it.

  • Ubersnuber

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 1:38 pm PT

    spydrman5472:
    so u think dev's will turn ps3 down because its expencive to make games for'em?
    u must be the smart one in the family..

    Anyways, i really look forward to AoC. I will close my WoW acc just because of this one (that should rly explain how much i look forward to it..)

  • PossibleGamer

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 11:51 am PT

    enough with the mmo's by now. WoW or Guild Wars are the only ones

  • t_to_the_b

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 8:34 am PT

    hmmm.....and i was just looking for a reason to upgrade my pc....what a lovelly conkadink! looking forward to that game, its time to decrown World of Griefer !! always liked dark fantasy better.

  • faridmon

    Posted Jul 25, 2006 8:13 am PT

    MMO sucks, i don't want to pay like 15 $ a month, i want to buy 10 games a month.

  • nintendorocks

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 8:54 pm PT

    Age of Conan to be picked up by Eidos? --Good
    Age of Conan delayed to March-May 2007? --Bad
    Console version of Age of Conan announced-- Well, here's my two cents.
    Only one MMO has been released on the Xbox 360, the port of Final Fantasy XI, and that wasn't so great. But with 20 hours of single player combat, it could work. We'll see.

  • vmfstorm1

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 5:42 pm PT

    gonna have to skip this game....pc is definetely not powerful enough....but it should look good on the ps3

  • rokkuman09

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 4:07 pm PT

    Wow *looks at screens* that will need some serious RAM to run smoothly will most likely look and run like crap on 360

  • runstalker

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 1:31 pm PT

    At least this one has a next-gen graphics engine. I hope the delay is to implement next-gen gameplay, not merely to expand upon endless days of uninspired stat-grind "content" that only serves to shrink your brain, enlarge your hunchback, and steadily accrue a nasty carpal tunnel condition while draining your bank account of $15 clams a month, to what end?

  • kinncolts

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 1:11 pm PT

    i wonder if they wud put this on Wii

  • ZeTecThreaT

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 1:01 pm PT

    Most def will pick this up on the 360.

  • DesmondPills

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 12:21 pm PT

    ummm..God of War is nothing like Conan..lol...have you seen the movie Conan?

  • scruffybawls

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 12:05 pm PT

    conans cool but mmorpgs are for the small and basty

  • hemakm3

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 11:38 am PT

    This will likely be on ps3 also. Sounds cool.

  • hammerchad

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 11:37 am PT

    Without Mako, there won't be any more Samurai Jack. This makes me very sad. You will be missed, Mako.

  • Kfoss

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 11:26 am PT

    Umm well thats intresting...i wonder how it will do on the consoles casue God of War is basically like conan...who knows...

  • evilmonkey998

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 11:25 am PT

    Thats sad that Mako died.

  • Tomtomtom1990

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 11:25 am PT

    mmo's suck

  • axia_777

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 11:16 am PT

    I just love how an unfonfirmed rumor of a 360 version equals no PS3 version to all the 360 fanboys. It really is funny. The system is not even out yet and all ready you are all saying it is getting no games and will sell like crap. Time will tell. But I bet Conan makes it to both 360 and PS3. Why? SUBSCRIPTIONS> Thats right. Ever company sees the mountain of cash that Vivendi and Blizzard are raking in hand over fist for WoW. Now they want a piece of that pie. It would only make perfect business sense for Eidos to bring it to PC, 360, and PS3 for the monthly subscritptions. Three times the cash is better than two I tell you.....

  • caesarbites

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 11:13 am PT

    Well, I was going to make a Crom reference, but it looks like all the important people beat me to it.

    And yay for the 360 version!! Yay? Nobody?

  • joedellamorte

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 11:06 am PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • spydrman5472

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 11:05 am PT

    ..."no PS3 love"... get used to it. With development costs across all platforms higher than ever in this coming generation (I say that just 'cause it has yet to be confirmed if developing for the Wii will actually prove any cheaper than on another console since no games are completed yet) and the PS3 posting the highest proposed dev costs of any platform I can assure you that Sony will see their third-party and cross-platform support chipping away. This is a small step in a large marathon of developers who will choose not to develop for the PS3 in favor of lower costs on other platforms.

  • kinncolts

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 10:59 am PT

    wait so if i get this do i hav to play the 20-hour single player or can i just jump into the online world....hopefully Funcom can find a way to make controls good on console versions.....its not immpossible..everyone thought u couldnt hav an RTS...and LOTR:BME2 turned out great

  • Ryowolf

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 10:58 am PT

    I'm sick of Eidos

  • blackIceJoe

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 10:57 am PT

    Well thats cool but no PS3 love that stinks.I would love to see a new Conan film after Arnold Schwarzenegger is done with office.He said He would like to go back in films only if He likes the part and thinks it will be fun.So I would love to see him in another Conan film.But most likely not seeing as last I heard they wanted some one younger.

  • 1nme4u

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 10:48 am PT

    by crom !

  • patjuan

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 10:47 am PT

    MMOs have not been a big draw on consoles. Using a Keyboard without a mouse is awkward.

  • Raziel_MGS

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 10:36 am PT

    i miss MAKO!!! this will be awesome if i can spear snakes

  • thorsen-ink GameSpot staff member

    Posted Jul 24, 2006 10:34 am PT

    CROM!

    If this comes to Xbox 360 my life is over.

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