Funcom financials hail King Conan

MMOG developer's Q2 earnings see 694 percent surge in revenue--but sharply increased loss; 1.2 million units now shipped, 415,000 players online.

The release of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures has ushered both good and bad financial times for its developer. Massively multiplayer gamemaker Funcom today reported $13 million in revenue for the quarter ended June 30, a massive 694 percent year-over-year rise. The earnings are also a huge jump from the first quarter of 2008, which saw the Norwegian company take in just $919,000.

Despite the spike in revenue, though, Funcom's profits were splashed by a fountain of red. Operating income fell dramatically during the quarter to a loss of $5.7 million, while net income plunged even deeper to a loss of nearly $7.2 million. The losses weren't entirely unexpected for Funcom, as the developer noted Age of Conan launch expenses weighed heavily on the company's bottom line. Losses and all, Funcom noted that it is still in a "strong" financial position, with its ledger reflecting nearly $37 million in cash.

The revenue surge, of course, can be attributed to the release of Age of Conan, its much-anticipated, and critic-approved, Robert E. Howard-inspired MMORPG. Shortly after the game's full launch on May 20, Funcom said that more than 400,000 adventurers had already set foot in its online realm. The developer quickly followed up that announcement with word that more than 1 million units of the game had been shipped to retail, a milestone not hit by a MMOG developer since Blizzard Entertainment unleashed World of Warcraft in 2004.

While Funcom has said it won't provide regular updates on Age of Conan subscriber levels "for marketing and competitive reasons," the studio revealed today it has shipped more than 1.2 million units of the game, 800,000 of which have been sold. Of those 800,000, 415,000 have remained subscribers as of August 14.

In addition to sales stats, Funcom provided a detailed profile of its player base. Undoubtedly bolstered by players' ability to venture forth topless with both male and female avatars, the game is predominately populated by men, with an average age of 29. Funcom also notes that there is an equal distribution of US and European subscribers, with players self-reporting higher than average education and income levels.

Addressing future Age of Conan expansion, Funcom said that it plans to launch localized editions of the game in Poland and Russia by year's end. The company also gave a brief update of the promised Xbox 360 edition of the game, saying that it remains in the early phases of development.

99 Comments

  • RedStar

    Posted Oct 20, 2008 4:31 pm GMT

    Back up your claims BloodMist.

  • BloodMist

    Posted Sep 27, 2008 11:07 am GMT

    This game, is meh.

  • dcook42

    Posted Sep 16, 2008 10:00 pm GMT

    3 Instances of endgame? Uhh yeah, if you can't get past T1 of raiding, sure. T2 offers 7+ bosses, and T3 I can't tell you about because I'm not there yet. Funcom is doing just fine, and I find the endgame fun and challenging, and certainly not lacking content. Just right, Kudos to Funcom.

  • SrTVBR

    Posted Sep 4, 2008 11:49 am GMT

    Funcom sucks! Who agree with me?

  • ColdfireTrilogy

    Posted Sep 3, 2008 7:36 pm GMT

    Have fun with you lack of anything to do when you get to endgame .... rofl. 3 instances WOOOOOO HOOOOOO thats if you can survive the 10 level gaps with 0 quests requiring koreanMMO style grinds ....

  • skopas

    Posted Aug 27, 2008 2:14 pm GMT

    Peeps are so impatient. Let a year go by at least and see how the game vows. AOC..is a fresh of breath air in contrast to cartoonville of wow. Give funcom a break they are trying new ideas out, and they will work fine in the long run. Problem is these peeps want another wow??...why? isn't one enough. Apparently not.

  • seregul

    Posted Aug 27, 2008 2:39 am GMT

    You can put perfurme on poo but at the end of the day it is still poo.

  • dslyderink

    Posted Aug 24, 2008 5:20 pm GMT

    Poo concealed by a layer of pretty paint is still poo underneath.

  • GCN49

    Posted Aug 24, 2008 1:46 pm GMT

    I've enjoyed playing AoC, but I've recently gone back to WoW. What got me was the memory leaks and how PvE content seemed to dwindle as you got up into the 40s... and the total lack of PvP... I mean, yes, it's there (supposedly) but I've never been able to actually participate in any of it. That and the crafting system isn't up to snuff. The melee combat was pretty awesome though. I may stay on for another month or two... but probably not past that. I guess the game universe just didn't capture me like I thought it would.

  • Hizaed

    Posted Aug 18, 2008 4:36 pm GMT

    " Atronflame


    URTV_Rubedo, I hate to break it to you but you have to give your credit card for the free month in EVERY MMO. But yeh, this game is garbage. Total lack of customer support on Funcom's part. I canceled my account after the free month."

    Incorrect. You can download and play WoW for 10 days with no credit card info entered... heck the client they have now streams you the content so you only end up downloading like 50 megs and you are in the game. I really want something to take down WoW... KOTOR Online maybe? or World of Starcraft (zomg I hope)

  • SpiderXarc

    Posted Aug 18, 2008 2:59 pm GMT

    "I laugh at all you people who played for a month and then left. You are all clearly new to the mmo genre. It took WOW 9 months to even resemble what it is today, Yet you expect a new mmo to be perfect at launch."

    I laugh at peaople who take longer than a month to figure out they're holding on to a terd.

  • merlin19783

    Posted Aug 18, 2008 10:58 am GMT

    The graphics are stunning, the combat is very satisfying and Ive just been playing pvp for 4 hours straight. Ive played WoW Lotro Eve and Tabula. Imo this is the best MMO to date although I did love wow and Lotro. Yeah sure these games did a few things better than AoC is doing now but like some people have already said, this game is just starting off. WoW was just the same at the start.

    Trouble is lots of people like to make big sweeping statements like 'the game is dead', makes them sound like they are in the know and they were clever enough to see the game for what it really is... I hate to break it to you but as a player of the game my server is full every day and now all the one month whiners have headed off to flame their next game we can get on with enjoying what is a great MMO with lots of scope for the future.

  • jackrocks123

    Posted Aug 18, 2008 10:34 am GMT

    vbdevpro Posted Aug 18, 2008 5:47 pm GMT "Undoubtedly bolstered by players' ability to venture forth topless with both male and female avatars, the game is predominately populated by men, with an average age of 29."

    That has to be the most insulting thing I've ever read on Gamespot. I mean... they basically just insulted their readers. Nice...

    ------------------------------------------------
    oooo you can go topless? i'm in! lol

  • vbdevpro

    Posted Aug 18, 2008 9:47 am GMT

    "Undoubtedly bolstered by players' ability to venture forth topless with both male and female avatars, the game is predominately populated by men, with an average age of 29."

    That has to be the most insulting thing I've ever read on Gamespot. I mean... they basically just insulted their readers. Nice...

  • bigelf72

    Posted Aug 18, 2008 9:24 am GMT

    I laugh at all you people who played for a month and then left. You are all clearly new to the mmo genre. It took WOW 9 months to even resemble what it is today, Yet you expect a new mmo to be perfect at launch.

  • tmatte

    Posted Aug 18, 2008 4:29 am GMT

    treade

    400,000 players doesn't mean dead.

  • Igiss

    Posted Aug 18, 2008 4:04 am GMT

    This game is no good, played for a month and left - it was an overall disappointment. Not too bad either, but nothing to compare with WoW, City of ... or the forthcoming Warhammer Online. This game became so popular only due to lack of other notable releases in this genre.

  • suva_laki

    Posted Aug 17, 2008 11:35 pm GMT

    ok why in the world did u write a puff piece about the single worst game company in the world. i made level 80 on conan and stopped playing because it sucked. funcom is just gonna start losing money from here on in.

  • Dared

    Posted Aug 17, 2008 8:47 pm GMT

    I selected "Pay by Cash", and the game let me play for the free month without a credit card. Then I stopped playing.

  • treade

    Posted Aug 17, 2008 8:42 pm GMT

    worst game ever made. What the heck is wrong with you writing this article. Their CEO sold off 1\5th of the total stock last week, obviously because they've reportedly lost over 3\4ths of their player base in a month. The game is dead, already.

  • CincyChaotic

    Posted Aug 17, 2008 7:43 pm GMT

    Why is it that everyone hits level 45 or 50 then quits?

  • krane642000

    Posted Aug 17, 2008 7:36 pm GMT

    Yea. The success of WoW is a total accident.. Guffaw.....Guffaw...Guffaw...
    No, really.. Guffaw..

  • URTV_Rubedo

    Posted Aug 17, 2008 6:41 pm GMT

    AtronFlame: My memory may be a bit fuzzy, but I dont remember needing to give my credit card to play WoW when i first bought it. WoW is the best game of its genre so wannabes like AoC can suck it. And to all those "tired of Wow", dont expect a breath of fresh air from AoC

  • geist9049

    Posted Aug 17, 2008 5:37 pm GMT

    memory leaks and the failure of PVP play is what drove me off. it was too bad too cause i really wanted to like that game being a big fan of the Conan universe

  • geist9049

    Posted Aug 17, 2008 5:34 pm GMT

    i was driven off by the memory leaks and failed pvp. i wanted to love the game but that just wasnt possible after so long and no real fixes to the above problems.

  • brianpoetzel

    Posted Aug 17, 2008 5:23 pm GMT

    You guys are right. WoW's success is the exception, not the rule. An aberation of sorts. Comparing other MMOs to WoW is not a good way to measure a games success.

  • Atronflame

    Posted Aug 17, 2008 4:05 pm GMT

    URTV_Rubedo, I hate to break it to you but you have to give your credit card for the free month in EVERY MMO. But yeh, this game is garbage. Total lack of customer support on Funcom's part. I canceled my account after the free month.

  • Dapsone

    Posted Aug 17, 2008 2:22 pm GMT

    I would not doubt at the least if these numbers will look worse as more updated data is reported. At least my own annectdotal data would suggest this in the fact that I saw TWO copies of the supposed "sold out" Collector's Edition doing nothing but 'collecting' dust on a Best Buy shelf just this weekend.

  • URTV_Rubedo

    Posted Aug 17, 2008 11:01 am GMT

    This game sucks, I hope funcom declares bankruptcy. For those of you who havent bought it, you need to put your credit card to play for the free month. Soon after, your tired of playing this bag a crap and you forget about the charges, then on your credit statement you see funcom.

  • ma_hurt

    Posted Aug 17, 2008 9:18 am GMT

    Q2 numbers are for June 30. The report was approved in August. This is how Q2 reports are done! These numbers do not reflect the current actual subscriber base. As of Aug 14, those numbers would be different.

  • solidmaster

    Posted Aug 17, 2008 8:39 am GMT

    I was stuck with that game, until I got my hands on WAR beta and never looking back.

  • earlthecannibal

    Posted Aug 17, 2008 8:05 am GMT

    The game would have been ok if they started you at level cap. Why advance in levels if the gear and skills stay the same?

  • LightWarrior

    Posted Aug 17, 2008 7:58 am GMT

    I somewhat predicted this but it seems for my reasons are much different. I predicted it would have a surge of players at the beginning then slowly dwindle a bit. One the game is graphic heavy...two...and I'm bit serious here....the whole boobs feature. I figured many players would get on and play for a month for the boobs get their fix and then leave.

  • lannyboy334

    Posted Aug 17, 2008 12:30 am GMT

    Those are some successful numbers to me, World of Warcraft is a phenomena that was spawned from the greatest third-party developer in the business, no game will ever live up to it's sale. This game is turning a profit for a company that has been fading away, good for them! This is a post about numbers, not quality of game. The retention rate is pretty solid when you consider games like Planetside and Auto Assault, the first one being a great game that was patched into oblivion, the second being a flat-out failure. As time goes on the all of the quirks will be cleaned up and the mid-level and end-game will surely be polished. It will take some time, but if Funcom plays their cards right they could carve out a very definitive nitch in the MMO market, right along side LOTRO and soon-to-be WAR.

  • world69star69

    Posted Aug 16, 2008 11:07 pm GMT

    Played since beta and after 2 months after launch, I found myself not playing for weeks at all. After around level 30 its boring! The direction isn't there. Of course this usually happens to me in most mmos vanguard, lotro, and eq2 were the same way (all games i tried at launch) They seem so good in the low levels then they are grind fests or linear in the mid levels..


    My biggest complaint with conan was the gear was crap! Everything looked the same, there was hardly any blue gear, and never seen anything higher then that. All the gear had bland bonuses, and looked the same, I kept hoping that i would get this killer sword or great piece of armor, but no. Even with money there wasn't anything cool to buy from the broker, it was all the same! I'd rather play an arpg like diablo2, sacred, or titan quest as the loot and games are just more thrilling! You get new gear that is actually diverse and powerful...it must be how conan balances gear..its all the same and sucks! Guild wars was the same way.

    I'll stick to playing single player rpgs, like baldur's gate series, neverwinter nights series, witcher, mass efect, kotor, diablo series, sacred series, gothic series, vampire: bloodlines, and all my other pc and ps3 games! Thats another thing i like about quiting an mmo, you realize you have all these gaems to play and you don't have to dish out money every month..Mmos are why the pc game scene has been mediocre lately...all those people playing mmos aren't buying new games. I am not playing another mmo, they all suck to me now.

    One last thing about conan, they needed to keep the same level of quality as level 1-20 was, it felt like a different lesser game after level 20. All the polish wasn't there anymore and the game was half finished. I enjoyed the comabat and grouping, but not enough for someone like me who has limited time to play. Also only having one starting city was a horrible idea! I didn't feel like building any alts besides the 2 chars i picked as you have to play the same exact content over and over again, no thanks!

  • magicquebec posted Aug 16, 2008 9:47 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    magicquebec

    Posted Aug 16, 2008 9:47 pm GMT (hide)

    Yuk, i sold the game with 22 days left on my free month... the game is simply NOT FUN i hate the loading when you enter or leave a room... ANY room. I just dislike the combo system and the free bashing style... i had to play with all my 5 fingers going 2,3,2,6,7,7,2,9,1.... you know how hard it is to hit 1 and then 9 with a single hand without looking.. and you need to keep the "w.a.s.d." going..

    It's a console game in my mind, if it comes to PS3, even in 2 years, i'll buy it back. for now, aint interested.

  • PieCrusher

    Posted Aug 16, 2008 8:56 pm GMT

    It is a great game with a lot more potential that is slowly rising as they fix and updated it. The game was released with a lot of bugs and glitches and missing content. But over the last few monthes it is greatly improving in getting rid of those bugs and glitches along with adding in the missing content.

  • Sniper333

    Posted Aug 16, 2008 7:25 pm GMT

    I canceled my subscription out of frustration with the game and yes, bored. Way to many bugs. Disapointment of 08

  • konradak

    Posted Aug 16, 2008 7:17 pm GMT

    It was okayyyyy. I got bored with it tho...

  • konradak

    Posted Aug 16, 2008 7:17 pm GMT

    It was okayyyyy. I got bored with it tho...

  • MichaeltheCM

    Posted Aug 16, 2008 7:06 pm GMT

    bitter-sweet news for this game developer. i havent heard much from this game since its release. good to hear that it's doing alright

  • kid-poker1973

    Posted Aug 16, 2008 6:58 pm GMT

    50% player loss? Hmmmm. A definition of a successful game should be...is it still going 12 months after launch? In todays market ANY game hyped and publicized as much as this one was will pull in some big numbers the first couple of months...

    The truth behind those numbers will be seen after the first couple of months...I think the truth is starting to come to light.

    418,000 players out of 1.2 million units....hmmmm.

    Yeah I'm not a business guru but those numbers seem shaky to me.

    I played for 2 months and ran a couple of characters up past Level 50...I played 2 weeks longer than I should have. I will be avoiding ALL Funcom titles from here on out.

    Anarchy Online = WORST MMO release in history of MMO's

    Age of Conan = WORST Customer Support from game developer EVER!

  • ordion2323

    Posted Aug 16, 2008 5:43 pm GMT

    The name of the game is INSTANCED! Instancing a mmo like that means no imersion. Thats my opinion anyway.

  • Lash540

    Posted Aug 16, 2008 4:07 pm GMT

    dude rbal what are you talking about its a great game loaded with content and plus the game was just released a few months ago, they are trying to over come some technical short comings give them time and support. These are the guys that made Anarchy Online , that game has TONS OF CONTENT and 210 levels or something along those lines.

  • rbal782

    Posted Aug 16, 2008 3:58 pm GMT

    I played AoC for about....two weeks until I was bored to death! Could have been a "good" game, but just not enough for me to pay each month.

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