100,000 Gamers Sign up for Age of Conan Beta Test

Funcom issued a press release earlier this morning announcing that 100,000 gamers signed up for the Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures beta test over Easter.
100,000 gamers signed up for Age of Conan Beta during Easter

- Overwhelming interest for Beta testing 50.000 signed up during the first 24 hours -

Durham, USA April 11th, 2007 Funcom and Eidos announce that more than 100.000 gamers signed up for the '˜Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures' Beta test over the Easter holiday. Just within the first 24 hours of the announcement more than 50.000 gamers signed up to test the game. Despite a demanding sign-up process the initial numbers bodes very well for the future of the most savage, sexy and action-packed MMO ever created.

(We're naturally very pleased to see that so many dedicated gamers are signing up for the '˜Age of Conan' Beta at such a rapid pace,) says Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. (With more than 100,000 gamers signed up in such a short time-frame our confidence in the game's potential and its ability to be a major contender in the MMO genre continues to be strengthened.)

To avoid gamers that were simply looking for a free trial of the game already at this stage, Funcom launched a Beta sign-up process which involved filling out detailed personal information, as well as providing detailed technical information about the PC system. As such, the sign-up process has been created to ensure that those signing up would be dedicated to the testing of the game. As the game moves into more open Beta stages closer to the launch, further initiatives will be unveiled to expand the base of Beta testers.

(We've been developing this incredible world for years now and today more than 150 people are working hard on achieving the ambitious goals we set out for the game,) says Gaute Godager, founder of Funcom and Game Director on '˜Age of Conan'. (The team is very excited about the number of gamers who have signed up for the Beta so far, and we can't wait to see them charging into the brutal battlefields of Hyboria!)

'Age of Conan' will release on the 30th of October. The game is consistently listed as one of the most anticipated PC games of 2007, and won 'Best MMO of E3' awards from IGN, GameSpot, GameSpy and Yahoo. 'Age of Conan' is a key title in Microsoft's Games for Windows line-up, as well as being a showcase DirectX 10 title for nVidia. More information, Beta sign-up, forums and a welcoming community portal can be found on http://www.ageofconan.com.

You still have a chance to secure a spot in the Beta by signing up at beta.ageofconan.com


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 or http://www.ageofconan.com . Funcom is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker FUNCOM.

ABOUT CONAN PROPERTIES INTERNATIONAL - Conan Properties International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Paradox Entertainment Inc., controls all rights to Conan, associated characters and the Hyborian world, as created by Robert E. Howard and expanded upon by acclaimed authors and artists for decades. Conan is considered to be the world's best-known fantasy character. For more information about Conan Properties International, visit http://www.conan.com. For information about Paradox Entertainment Inc., visit http://www.paradox-entertainment.com.

ABOUT EIDOS INTERACTIVE LTD - Eidos Interactive Ltd is part of SCi Entertainment Group Plc (SEG) one of the world's leading publishers and developers of entertainment software. Eidos consists of publishing operations across Europe and the US and several development studios including Crystal Dynamics, IO Interactive, Beautiful Game Studios, Eidos Hungary, Eidos Sweden and Pivotal Games. The Group has a valuable combined portfolio of intellectual property including: Tomb Raider, Hitman, Deus Ex, Championship Manager, Carmageddon, Battlestations Midway, the Conflict series and Just Cause. Some of the titles currently in development include: Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, Crossfire, Highlander and Age of Conan.