Funcom Gains $30m In New Funding

Officials from Norwegian publisher and developer Funcom have announced that the company has completed a private placement, with unnamed investors, which has resulted in additional funding of approximately $30 million. Funcom are best known for their PC products, particularly adventure games The Longest Journey/Dreamfall and massively multiplayer online (MMO) title Anarchy Online. The company attributes the generous amount of new funding to anticipation for the success of forthcoming MMO Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Conan is due for release on October 30th this year, with the new funding being primarily required for strengthening marketing and operational capacity prior to the launch. (The title is not to be confused with a Conan-related console action title currently in development by Nihilistic and THQ.) At the same time, Funcom has also announced plans to enter the casual MMO market and has announced it is currently evaluating several possible expansion opportunities, which may include near term acquisitions. “We’re expecting the launch of Age of Conan to create significant waves in the MMO gamespace,” said 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.”