Funcom Q4 Losses Up With Age of Conan Preparation

Funcom has announced its financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2007, showing sales of $1.75 million, down 19 percent from $2.15 million the prior year. Funcom says the higher sales in 2006 were driven primarily by the Lost Eden expansion pack for Anarchy Online. Funcom also saw losses increase from $1 million in 2006 to $3.1 million in its latest quarter, credited to increased costs in the "build up to the Age of Conan launch and "exchange rate fluctuations". The company highlighted "very positive feedback" from the press for its upcoming Age of Conan MMO, thanks to changes it made to the game's "accessibility and entry barriers." Funcom also noted that some 500,000 users have signed up for either the Conan beta or its newsletter. Originally planned for release in the second half of 2007, Funcom twice delayed Age of Conan -- according to the company, to "stress the game systems and sort out bugs in the game." Funcom says it will continue and extend stress testing up until launch on May 20th, 2008. Funcom adds that development of its previously announced forthcoming Xbox 360 and PC MMO The Secret World, from Dreamfall and The Longest Journey creator Ragnar Tørnquist, has "progressed well" during the quarter -- and that a portion of its staff has now been diverted to support Age of Conan. Finally, Funcom notes that its casual game development initiative, in an early phase, is on track as planned, and adds that its mobile subsidiary, Plutolife, is "experiencing progress." The entire company, including Plutolife, grew from 288 employees at the start of the fiscal quarter to 302 as of December 31, 2007.