Funcom Oslo AS | |
---|---|
Formerly | Funcom Productions AS |
Type | Subsidiary |
Industry | Video games |
Traded as | OSE: FUNCOM |
ISIN | NO0010887029 [1] |
Founded | 1993 |
Founders | Erik Gloersen Tyr Neilsen Andre Backen Gaute Godager (left in 2008) Olav Mørkrid |
Headquarters | Oslo, Norway |
Number of locations | 5 studios and offices |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key People | Rui Casais (CEO) |
Products | Conan series, Dune series Upcoming, Mutant series, Secret World series, The Longest Journey series |
Number of employees | 480 (2022) |
Parent | Tencent (100%) |
Website | https://funcom.com/ |
“ | Make great games and have a damn good time doing it. | „ |
~ About Us |
Funcom Oslo AS is a video game developer and publisher and subsidiary of Tencent. It is home to most of the Conan Exiles team.
Located in Oslo, Norway, Funcom currently has 185 employees from 25 different nationalities.[2][3] It was listed as Funcom SE on the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE: Funcom) since 2005. It is backed by Northzone Ventures, Stelt Holding and Teknoinvest.[4]
Tencent announced in January 2020 its intent to fully acquire Funcom through purchasing all outstanding shares of the company in February 2020.[5] As of April 15, 2020 Tencent has fully acquired Funcom and as of July 14, 2020 owns 100% of shares in the company.[6]
Description[]
“ | Funcom is a world-leading independent developer and publisher of PC and console games.
Funcom was founded in 1993 and has since then developed and published over 25 game titles across several genres and gaming platforms. Most notable of these are the online games Conan Exiles, The Secret World, Age of Conan and Anarchy Online, as well as the adventure game 'The Longest Journey'. |
„ |
~ PR: Short description |
History[]
In 1993, Erik Gloersen, Tyr Neilsen, Andre Backen, Gaute Godager and Olav Mørkrid founded Funcom as an independent video game developer. Its original name was Funcom Productions AS. In the early years of Funcom, they are mostly making games for other major entertainment corporations.
At its peak in 2008, Funcom had around 680 employees spread across offices all over the world.[7]
1993[]
Funcom is founded as Funcom Productions AS. It starts with five employees.
1994[]
- 1994: Funcom B.V. and Funcom Dublin Ltd. founded.[8]
Funcom releases
- A Dinosaur's Tale (SEGA Genesis)
- Daze Before Christmas (SEGA Genesis, SNES)
1995[]
- 1995: Funcom Productions AS changed name to Funcom Oslo AS.[8]
Funcom releases
- Fatal Fury Special (SEGA CD, SNES and more)
- Samurai Shodown (SEGA CD, SNES and more)
1996[]
- Disney's Pocahontas (Game Boy, SEGA Genesis)
- Nightmare Circus (SEGA Genesis)
- Winter Gold (SNES)
- DragonHeart: Fire & Steel (PlayStation, SEGA Saturn, PC)
- Impact Racing (PlayStation, Sega Saturn)
- Casper (Game Boy, PlayStation, SEGA Saturn)
1997[]
- Funcom releases NBA Hang Time (SEGA Genesis, N64, PlayStation, SNES, PC)
1999[]
Funcom releases
- The Longest Journey (PC Windows); and
- Speed Freaks (original PlayStation) in Europe
2000[]
Funcom releases
- Speed Freaks in North America as Speed Punks; and
- No Escape (PC Windows)
2001[]
- June 27: Funcom releases Anarchy Online (PC Windows).
2005[]
In December 2005, Funcom NV (now Funcom SE), the Dutch mother company of Funcom Oslo, becomes a publicly traded company listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE).
- Naturally this had significant impact on the company's structure and way of business and also opened up new opportunities for financing.
- An updated logo is released.
2006[]
- April 17: Funcom releases Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (PC and Xbox).
2007[]
March 14: In an interview, Trond Arne Aas explains why Funcom has abandoned traditional "offline" product distribution (e.g. on optical discs) completely in favor of digital distribution. The main reason for this decision is claimed to be the financial losses due to software piracy.[9]
2008[]
- May 20: Funcom releases Age of Conan (PC Windows).
- March 11: Norwegian Film Fund announces a grant worth NOK 1.5 million is given to Artplant to develop Heltenes Mønstring: Den Siste Kampen, a fantasy online MMO, in collaboration with Funcom.[10] This game is later cancelled.[citation needed]
- August 21: Funcom laid off half of its Customer Service department located in Durham, North Carolina.[11]
- September 17: Gaute Godager left Funcom, stating he was dissatisfied with certain elements of Age of Conan, which he directed. Craig Morrison took over the direction of Age of Conan.[12]
- November 22: Third parties reported that Funcom fired an additional 70% of the staff in their US workforce, possibly endangering future releases.[11]
2009[]
- May 19: Norwegian Film Fund announces a grant worth NOK 1.5 million is given to Funcom to develop Monsterhelter, a fantasy online MMO, in collaboration with Artplant.[13]
- September: The company announces opening a development studio in Montreal, Canada (Funcom Games Canada Inc)
- November 2: Norwegian Film Fund announces a grant worth NOK 1.5 million is given to Funcom to develop Board With The World, a free-to-play extreme sports social MMO.[14] A working prototype is accomplished, but the game is cancelled.[citation needed][15]
2010[]
- The Age of Conan expansion pack Rise of the Godslayer becomes free-to-play.
- March 17: Monsterhelter is nominated for the Nordic Game Awards in the categories "Best Artistic Achievement", "Best Nordic Children's Game" and "Best Nordic Game".[16]
2011[]
- Age of Conan becomes fully free-to-play.
On February 18, publisher Chillingo reports it is forced to change the name of My Kingdom, a mobile game developed by Mobile Pie, to Merchant Kingdom due to an issue with Funcom, who are working on a game by the same name (My Kingdom).[17]
- In March, My Kingdom releases on Facebook.[18]
- October 28: Norwegian Film Fund announces a grant worth NOK 800 thousand is given to Funcom to develop Project O, a team-based tactical online action game, in collaboration with Stunlock Studios.[19][20][21] A vertical slice demo is made, but this game is later put on hold.[22][23]
2012[]
- Funcom releases The Secret World and Pets vs Monsters (formerly Monsterhelter[24])
2013[]
Funcom Games Canada Inc. works with LEGO in 2013 to make the core engine for LEGO FUSION and numerous iterative prototypes using the FUSION technology and tools. They also may have worked on or pitched multiple other LEGO products, some of which were further developed by LEGO or others.[25]
2014[]
On January 29, Norwegian economic crime unit Økokrim launched an investigation into suspected infringement of the provisions of the Securities Trading Act connected to the 2012 launch of The Secret World.
- In October, the case against Funcom was closed after the company paid a fine.
On April 24 the company reported securing NOK 9.7 million (USD 1.6 million) additional equity.
- The additional cash boost helped the company to fully prepare for the launch of the LEGO Minifigures MMO in summer 2014.
- June 29: Funcom releases LEGO Minifigures Online (PC, iOS and Android).
2015[]
- Rui Casais, who joined as junior programmer in 2004, becomes Funcom's CEO.
After both The Secret World and LEGO Minifigures Online fail to become the commercial successes Funcom had hoped for, a new, future strategy for Funcom is created.
- In this new strategy, major changes to the company structure, ambitions, way of doing things, priorities and tools were made.
Funcom develops two smaller games in both Oslo and North Carolina, aimed at increasing the teams' experience with the Unreal Engine: The Park and Hide & Shriek.
- October 27: Funcom releases The Park (PC, Xbox, PS4), a single-player horror experience based on The Secret World IP.
- In December, the company announces that it has entered into a partnership agreement with Conan Properties International LLC.
2016[]
- October 1: The LEGO Minifigures Online license agreement with LEGO expires and the game's operations are terminated.
- October 25: Funcom releases multi-player game Hide & Shriek (PC).
2017[]
January 31: Funcom releases the open-world survival game Conan Exiles into Steam Early Access and it immediately becomes a hit for the company, selling half a million units on Steam in the first month.
- August 16: The game launches into Xbox Game Preview as The Frozen North expansion update is also released.
July 26: Funcom releases Secret World Legends.
August 31: Funcom gets a new logo. The new logo, the first logo update in 12 years, represents Funcom's journey that has led them to where they are today.
- The first six months of the year were the most profitable ever in the history of the company.[26]
2018[]
May 8: Funcom launches Conan Exiles fully on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
June 22: Conan Exiles' The Imperial East Pack DLC is published alongside a hotfix.
August 2: Conan Exiles' Jewel of the West Pack DLC is published alongside a hotfix.
August 23: Conan Exiles' separate Japanese PS4 version Conan Outcasts is launched.
October 9: Conan Exiles' The Savage Frontier Pack DLC is published alongside an update.
December 12: Conan Exiles' Seekers of the Dawn Pack DLC is published alongside an update.
- Funcom reached 15.000 followers on Twitch and 1100 followers on Mixer.[27]
2019[]
January 8: Acquisition of majority stake in lisbon based game service studio ZPX[28], which made some of the animations for Conan Exiles.
February 26: Funcom announces at least three Dune games to be developed with Legendary Entertainment and Herbert Properties LLC.
February 28: Stalker Trials update for Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden.
March 11: Anarchy Online gets a new server.
March 20: Funcom announces Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden coming to Nintendo Switch in Summer 2019 with DLC expansion and retail release.
March 26: Funcom reveals cosmic horror game Moons of Madness.
April 1: Conan Chop Chop and the return of the Night of the Lost Souls Conan Exiles event[29] are announced as April Fools jokes.
- Conan Chop Chop is later announced as an actual game, see June 10, 2019.
April 10: Funcom announces an external game based on an IP held by Heroic Signatures DA to be created in partnership with Games Farm.[30]
April 15: Conan Exiles' Treasures of Turan Pack DLC is published alongside a hotfix.
May 8: Conan Exiles' 1 Year Anniversary; The Riddle of Steel DLC is published alongside an update and a Steam free weekend.
May 23: Funcom reveals the Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden Seed of Evil DLC and changes the ETA of the DLC and previously announced retail and Switch edition to July 30, 2019.
May 24: Conan Unconquered is announced to release May 29, one day earlier than planned.
May 29: Conan Unconquered releases on Steam.
June 10: Conan Chop Chop is revealed to be a real game during the PC Gaming Show at E3 2019.
July 30: Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden releases for the Switch and in retail. The Seed of Evil DLC releases on all platforms digitally and physically, except digitally for PS4.
August 6: The Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden Seed of Evil DLC releases digitally for the PS4.
August 26: Conan Chop Chop release moved to Q1 2020 to include online multi-player.
September 3: Conan Exiles' Blood and Sand Pack DLC is published alongside an update.
September 27: Funcom announces mounts are coming to Conan Exiles in December 2019, along with mounted combat and pet leveling.
September 30: Tencent becomes the largest shareholder in Funcom. It agreed to acquire all shares belonging to the Norway-based KGJ Capital AS, which was previously the largest shareholder.
October 8: Conan Exiles' Debaucheries of Derketo Pack DLC is published alongside an update.
October 10: Moons of Madness launch is announced for October 22, 2019.
October 15: Moons of Madness ARG "Cyrano" is discussed.
October 18: New Moons of Madness gameplay video and system requirements revealed.
October 22: Moons of Madness launches.
October 25: The Park port on Nintendo Switch launches.
December 3: Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden celebrates one year anniversary with a sale and fan made film release.
December 5: Conan Exiles' Riders of Hyboria Pack DLC is published alongside an update and a Steam Free Weekend.[31]
December 18: Conan Chop Chop release is announced for February 25, 2020 with new trailer.
2020[]
January 14: Moons of Madness console release moved to March 24, 2020.
January 22: Tencent seeks to acquire full ownership of Funcom.[32]
February 12: Conan Chop Chop release ETA changed from February 25, 2020 to Q2 2020.
March 24: Moons of Madness releases on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
April 15: Full acquisition of Funcom by Tencent through Tencent Cloud Europe B.V..
May 7: Conan Exiles' Architects of Argos Pack DLC is published alongside an update and a Steam Free Weekend.
June 11: Funcom announces Rhythm FPS Metal: Hellsinger.
June 27: Conan Chop Chop release ETA changed from Q2 2020 to 2020.
September 15: Conan Exiles' Isle of Siptah DLC is published alongside an update and a Steam Free Weekend.
November 25: Funcom releases a gameplay music video for Metal: Hellsinger.
December 16: Conan Chop Chop release ETA changed from 2020 to Early 2021.
2021[]
May 27: Conan Exiles' Isle of Siptah DLC fully releases on all platforms.
June 30: Funcom acquires The Outsiders and announces it will open a quality assurance studio in Romania.
July 16: Conan Chop Chop release delayed indefinetly to implement improvements gained from playtesting.
September 14: Funcom acquires the Cabinet Group and announces it will merge IPs into the IP studio Heroic Signatures.
Studios[]
The Funcom Group consist of 8 companies. Funcom SE, the parent company of the Group and seven wholly owned subsidiaries.
Oslo, Norway[]
Funcom Oslo AS (Formerly Funcom Productions AS[8]) is located in Oslo, Norway.
Focus is on the development and operation of games and technology. It is the home office of the Conan Exiles studio, where the decisions regarding Conan Exiles are made. As of December 17, 2020 the Oslo team consists of 100 people from 30 different nationalities.[33]
It also houses
- Funcom Oslo Licensing AS, lead by Ole Hamran Schreiner, which handles tax administration and the owner company, Funcom B.V..[8][34] It is the holding company for Heroic Signatures DA.
- Funcom SE, the registered office (Dutch: statutaire zetel) which was previously located in Katwijk, The Netherlands. On August 30, 2019 it was announced that it would be moved to the municipality of Oslo, Norway to reduce the burden of administrative expenses and achieve a more efficient group structure. On July 3, 2020 it was confirmed that the move to Norway was completed.
Durham, North Carolina, USA[]
Funcom Inc. is located in Research Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina and is an equal opportunity employer.
Focus is on the development of computer games. It was previously a secondary development studio for Conan Exiles. However, this now takes place in the Oslo office. As of December 17, 2020 the Oslo team consists of 75 people from 6 different nationalities.[35]
Lisbon, Portugal[]
Zona Paradoxal Lda. (also known as ZPX) is located in Lisbon, Portugal. It has contributed to Conan Exiles, Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden and other projects. As of January 9, 2019 Funcom has acquired a 50.1% majority stake in the company.[36] It will continue to act independently with Funcom, who have a controlling interest, as its main customer.[37] As of December 17, 2020 the Lisbon team consists of 45 people from 10 nationalities.[38]
ZPX' contribution to Conan Exiles includes the production of high and low poly 3D models, textures and the setup of assets and materials on Unreal Engine. The collaboration of the engineering team included help with the debug process, bug fixing and implementation of new features.[39]
Bucharest, Romania[]
Funcom BucharestETA: Late September 2021 is located in Bucharest, Romania.[40]
Focus is on quality assurance of games. It is planned to expand to other areas of game development over time.
Stockholm, Sweden[]
The Outsiders - a Funcom Studio (also known as The Outsiders) is a majority-owned subsidiary located in Stockholm, Sweden. It will continue to act independently with Funcom.
Focus is on the development of games.[41]
Newcastle upon Tyne, England[]
The Funcom UI/UX Hub is located in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Focus is on the development of UI/UX. It is planned to expand and establish a co-working space.
Badhoevedorp, The Netherlands[]
Funcom SE (previously Funcom N.V.) is a public limited company registered in The Netherlands and publicly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.[42] It is the mother company of Funcom Oslo AS.
The company is subject to Norwegian securities legislation and stock exchange regulations as well as Dutch legislation.
Beijing (Peking), China[]
Funcom Games Beijing Ltd. is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE), responsible for publishing in Asia. Before 2011, this was a development studio and representative office.[4]
Nephilim LLC[]
Nephilim LLC is located in the United States. It is the owner of the film rights used by Funcom.
Heroic Signatures DA[]
Heroic Signatures DA is a wholly-owned subsidiary and the owner of the Heroic Signatures IPs which are used by Funcom.
The IP studio was originally a joint venture between Funcom and the Cabinet Group, which it now owns. Cabinet Group's entire portfolio has been incorporated into this IP studio.[43]
Previous studios[]
Dublin, Ireland[]
Funcom Dublin Ltd.[44] was a development studio. It was founded in 1994 and all console development for the company was conducted from there since 1996. Initially based in Clonskeagh, they later moved to a larger office in Sandyford.
Many of the early staff was recruited locally, from design courses at the National College of Art and Design in Dun Laoghaire and Ballyfermot PLC. The first title they worked on was Impact Racing (PSX).
In 1998, they struck a deal with Activision to create the motor racer D.I.R.T., but the deal fell through. In 1999, the game was released as Championship Motocross Featuring Ricky Carmichael by THQ.
After the initial focus on the PlayStation, it was announced in July 2000 that the office would now focus on the Xbox platform. The main Funcom company, however, achieved a lot of success with its early online titles, so it started work on a large project, the MMORPG Anarchy Online. Because of the financial risks involved, all attention was focused on the new title and the Dublin office was closed in August 2001. The Xbox game they were working on, Jet Sprint MX, was cancelled.
Games:
- Championship Motocross 2001 Featuring Ricky Carmichael (2001)
- Speed Punks (1999)
- Championship Motocross Featuring Ricky Carmichael (1999)
- Impact Racing (1996)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada[]
Funcom Games Canada Inc. was the development studio for The Secret World and Age of Conan expansion pack Rise of the Godslayer.
Bertrange, Luxembourg[]
Funcom S.à r.l. was a trading branch of Funcom.[citation needed] It was fully liquidated in 2016.[45]
Zürich, Switzerland[]
Funcom GmbH was previously Funcom headquarters. It was fully liquidated in 2016.[45]
The "Dreamfall - The Longest Journey Soundtrack EP" by Magnet (Even Johansen) falls under the Funcom GmbH label.[46]
Küsnacht, Switzerland[]
Funcom Sales GmbH[47] was the financial holding of Funcom GmbH. It was fully liquidated in 2016.[45]
Sweet Robot[]
Sweet Robot (or SweetRobot), consisting of Sweet Robot AS and Sweet Robot GmbH, was a development studio which worked on and specialized in publishing casual[48] MMO games.
It had been making a new game engine and a game titled Pets vs. Monsters[49], of which a beta version was published on December 16, 2009. The game fully released on January 13, 2012.[50] In 2014, development support for the game ended.[51]
Plutolife[]
Plutolife AS was a majority-owned subsidiary in the mobile segment. It was sold to Jumbuck Entertainment Ltd. in 2008.[52]
Games[]
- This list includes titles which may not be directly developed or published by Funcom itself.
Name | Release | Genre(s) | Device(s) | Development | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Moons of Madness | 2019 | Horror | PC Windows, PS4, XOne | External | Developed by Rock Pocket Games and Dreamloop Games |
Conan Unconquered | 2019 | Strategy | PC Windows | External | Developed by Petroglyph Games |
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden | 2018 | Strategy | PC Windows, NS, PS4, XOne | External | Developed by The Bearded Ladies |
Conan Exiles | 2018 | Survival | PC Windows, PS4, XOne | Internal | Developed by Funcom Oslo |
Secret World Legends | 2017 | MMORPG | PC Windows | Internal | Developed by Funcom North Carolina |
Hide and Shriek | 2016 | Multi-player | PC Windows | Internal | Developed by Funcom North Carolina |
The Park | 2015 | Horror | PC Windows, NS, PS4, XOne | Internal | Developed by Funcom Oslo |
LEGO Minifigures Online | 2015 | MMORPG | PC Windows, PC macOS, Android, iOS | Internal | Developed by Funcom Oslo |
The Longest Journey Remastered | 2014 | Adventure | iOS | Internal | Ported by Funcom |
Dreamfall Chapters | 2014 | Adventure | PC Windows, PS4, XOne | External | Developed by Red Thread Games on a license from Funcom |
Pets vs. Monsters | 2012 | MMORPG | Facebook (PC Windows), PC macOS | Internal | Developed by Sweet Robot in association with Artplant |
Fashion Week Live | 2012 | Casual | Internal | Fashion based social game | |
The Secret World | 2012 | MMORPG | PC Windows | Internal | Co-published by EA through EA Partners |
Bloodline Champions | 2011 | Action | PC Windows | External | |
My Kingdom | 2011 | Casual | Internal | Developed by Sweet Robot | |
Chess Attack | 2010 | Casual | External | Developed by Yes Games in association with Sweet Robot | |
Age of Conan: Unchained | 2008 | MMORPG | PC Windows | Internal | Formerly Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures |
Bionicle Heroes [citation needed] |
2006 | Shooter | PC Windows, PS2, X360, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, NDS, Wii | External | |
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey | 2006 | Adventure | PC Windows, Xbox | Internal | |
Anarchy Online | 2001 | MMORPG | PC Windows | Internal | |
Championship Motocross 2001 featuring Ricky Carmichael | 2001 | Racing | PlayStation, Game Boy Color | Internal | Developed by Funcom Dublin |
No Escape | 2000 | Shooter | PC Windows | Internal | |
Championship Motocross featuring Ricky Carmichael | 1999 | Racing | PlayStation | Internal | Developed by Funcom Dublin |
The Longest Journey | 1999 | Adventure | PC Windows | Internal | |
Speed Freaks | 1999 | Racing | PlayStation | Internal | Developed by Funcom Dublin (NA: Speed Punks) |
Deadly Skies | 1997 | Shooter | PlayStation | Internal | |
NBA Hangtime | 1997 | Sports | SNES, Mega Drive / Genesis | Internal | |
Casper | 1996 | Action | Sega Saturn | Internal | |
Impact Racing | 1996 | Racing | PlayStation, Sega Saturn | Internal | Developed by Funcom Dublin |
DragonHeart: Fire & Steel | 1996 | Action | PC Windows, PlayStation, Sega Saturn | Internal | |
Winter Gold | 1996 | Sports | SNES | Internal | |
Nightmare Circus | 1996 | Action | Mega Drive / Genesis | Internal | |
Disney's Pocahontas | 1996 | Adventure | Mega Drive / Genesis | Internal | |
Samurai Shodown | 1995 | Fighting | Mega-CD | Port | Ported by Funcom |
Fatal Fury Special | 1995 | Fighting | Mega-CD | Port | Ported by Funcom |
Daze Before Christmas | 1994 | Action | Mega Drive / Genesis, SNES | Internal | Developed by Funcom Oslo |
A Dinosaur's Tale | 1994 | Adventure | Mega Drive / Genesis | Internal | Developed by Funcom Oslo |
Project O | Cancelled | Strategy | PC Windows | External | Developed by Stunlock Studios in association with Funcom |
Board With The World | Cancelled | MMO | PC Windows | Internal | |
Heltenes Mønstring: Den Siste Kampen | Cancelled | MMORPG | PC Windows | External | Developed by Artplant in association with Funcom |
Midgard | Cancelled | MMORPG | PC Windows | Internal | |
Jet Sprint MX | Cancelled | Racing | Xbox | Internal | Developed by Funcom Dublin |
World Heroes CD | Cancelled | Fighting | Mega-CD | Internal | |
Codename Conquistador [citation needed] |
N/A | Adventure | PC Windows | Internal | |
Ivy League [citation needed] |
N/A | Shoot 'Em Up | PC Windows | Internal |
In the pipeline[]
This article is about Funcom releases and ports. For upcoming Conan Exiles updates and features, see Upcoming features. |
This is a list of upcoming releases and ports.
As of January 22, 2020, Funcom will focus on developing games in the Open World Survival segment with Games-as-a-Service business model.[53] Direct prequels / sequels for existing (pre-2020) games are not planned.[54]
Apart from the below, the following is being thought about:
- An Anarchy Online IP game.[55]
- Publishing and/or developing games on the Nintendo Switch.[55]
- Expanding the possibilities for Funcom's key IPs in the mobile platforms through cooperation with Tencent.[56]
- Read as: Name (Platforms), Release ETA - Progress by Developer
External[]
Externally developed games.
- Conan Chop Chop (PC Windows, PS4, NS, XOne), No ETA - in Production[57] by Mighty Kingdom.
- This game was revealed at E3 2019 during the PC Gaming Show.[58] Originally, it was planned for September 3, 2019, but on August 26, 2019 it was announced the release was moved to February 25, 2020 as Mighty Kingdom would add online multi-player.[59] On February 12, 2020 the release was moved to Q2 2020; developers were given additional time to ensure the game is optimized for online multi-player and to give them a chance to polish the game.[60] On June 27, 2020 the release was moved to H2 2020 to allow for further development.[61] On December 16, 2020 the release was moved to Early 2021 to finish implementing more random events, traps and minibosses.[62] On July 16, 2021 the release was delayed indefinetly to implement improvements gained from playtesting.[63]
- Metal: Hellsinger (PC Windows, PS4, PS5, XOne, XSX), 2021 - in Production by The Outsiders.
- Original (Not an existing Funcom IP).[64]
- Single-player, rhythm FPS.
- Narrated by Troy Baker (The Last of Us) as Paz the Skull and Jennifer Hale (Mass Effect) as The Red Judge.
- Songs are composed by Two Feathers Studios (Elvira Björkman, Nicklas Hjertberg) and performed by Matt Heafy (Trivium), Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquillity), Björn Strid (Soilwork), Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy), Tatiana Shmailyuk (Jinjer)[65], James Dorton (Black Crown Initiate) and several unannounced singers.
- Uses the Unity Engine.[66]
- The game will be optimized for next-gen consoles, with improved visuals, up to 120 frames per second[67] or 60 frames per second at 4K and drastically reduced loading time. It also supports Xbox Smart Delivery.[68]
- On April 30, 2020, The Outsiders announced they put development for their previous game Darkborn (formerly Project Wight, Archenemy) on halt and are working on a new, different project. On June 10, 2020 a trailer and pre-alpha gameplay were revealed at IGN Expo. A review demo also became available to the press.
- On July 2, 2020 editor-in-chief of Re-Play Jan Modrák tweeted about his opportunity to see the game and included a picture showing a possible teaser.[72]
- Untitled (External) (TBD), TBD - in Concept by TBD.
- No details available yet.[73]
Internal[]
Internally developed games. Funcom aims to have at least two of these in development at all time.
- Untitled (Mutant Chronicles) / Project Mallard[74] (PC Windows, PS4, XOne), TBD - in Production[57] by Funcom Inc..
- Mutant Chronicles IP.[75]
- Online multi-player, 4-player[74][76] co-op shooter with a large variety of co-operative and competitive sandbox multi-player levels.[77]
- 'PAYDAY / Left 4 Dead / Vermintide'-like gameplay.[78]
- Likely has NVIDIA GeForce NOW support.[69]
- Uses the Unreal 4 Engine[79] and will likely use DreamWorld Technology.[80]
- Sold with a premium, game as a service business model.[75] RedEye estimates the game will cost around 30-40$.[81]
- As of the Q4 2019 financial report, release ETA is after the listed Dune game.[57]
- Originally planned for 2020, it was announced on January 22, 2020 it had been impacted by scope changes due to external / market pressures with increasingly strong competition and internal delays.[53] As of the Q2 2019 financial report, this game will be developed by the US studio.[75] RedEye expects the game to be released in 2023 or later.[82]
- Untitled (Conan) / Project Steinbit[83] (PC Windows, PS4, XOne), TBD - in Pre-Production by Funcom Oslo AS.
- Conan IP.
- Single-player, action-adventure game.
- It will likely use the Unreal 4 Engine with DreamWorld Technology.[80]
- Uses members of the team that did Conan Exiles.
- You play as Conan. (Think "climbing the Tower of the Elephant"[78], chasing after the Frost Giant's daughter.[76])
- Originally planned for 2020. As of the Q2 2019 financial report, this game's development is temporarily on hold to focus the developers and management in the Oslo studio on Conan Exiles, Dune and other multi-player, open-world games.[75][71]
- Untitled (Dune) (PC Windows, PS4, PS5, XOne, XSX. Others TBD.[84][85][86] Possibly PC macOS.[87]), TBD - in Pre-Production[57] by Funcom Oslo AS.
- Frank Herbert's Dune IP.
- 3+ games, the first of which will be a persistent, open-world survival[71] game with online multi-player[88] and PvP.[79] The other two are likely Survival, FPS or similar.[79]
- Very large-scale, open world terrain. Multiple times the size of Conan Exiles.[89] Uses procedural content generation.[90]
- Living / Changing worlds.[89]
- A lot of different gameplay systems (Sandstorm, Combat, Building, Spice).[79]
- Humanoids, creatures, vehicles and weapons[79] with combat similar to third-person/first-person/unconventional and vehicular shooters.[91] Includes player abilities, aim assist/shooter mechanics and RPG progression systems. May include class/role-based gameplay.[92]
- Likely has NVIDIA GeForce NOW support.[69]
- Uses the Unreal 4 engine[79] and will likely use DreamWorld Technology.[80] The server technology will possibly be multi-threaded and have built-in support for Linux server configuration features.[79]
- Sold with a premium, game as a service business model.[75] As of the Q4 2019 financial report, the investment budget is estimated at USD 30-50m by Funcom.[57]
- Timeline TBD.[57] The game is to be released after around two years of production, as long as sufficient additional funding is secured.[53] It is currently planned to be released between the movies.[93]
All three games are to be developed between 2019 - 2025 during Funcom's partnership with Legendary Entertainment.
“ | We are leveraging a lot of know-how and experience on programming, design and art side. We are doing things heavily based on what we've learned from [Conan Exiles]. Some things are the direct re-use, some things are not. Obviously, Dune is a sci-fi setting. Conan is not. It's a fantasy setting. So, from an art point of view, the learnings are all in terms of processes, techniques, tools to use. From technology point of view there are some things we can re-use and then there are some things that we see we did wrong, that we need to do better. As you might know, Conan Exiles was done quite rushed and as such it has some technical problems at the core level that it caused some technical quality problems. So, we are those parts we are not re-using - we are rewriting from scratch, in order to have better technical quality. So, the answer is, we do leverage the experience from Conan Exiles a lot on all areas. Some areas are more concrete, where we can re-use, some areas are more based on the experience we've gained. And, if you had more time and had known those learnings and gotten the Conan Exiles right the first time in early access, then the upside could have been many times as big. That's what we want to do with the Dune game. Then we have all those learnings and we're gonna get the game properly from the first time on the platform that's easy to scale and keep building on in a much easier way than it is on the Conan Exiles now. So, that's what we're working towards and we're very excited about. | „ |
~ Rui Casais[94] |
“ | We were on site with Legendary Picture out in Europe, so we know what their models look like and what the sets look like. So, we're in the same world as them. It's not an exact rip-off of what's happening with the Dune movies, but it's in the same universe; it happens on Arrakis, the sand planet. | „ |
~ Paxton Galvanek[93] |
“ | It is set within the same century, but not the same storyline. [...] You can decide whether you want to be an Atreides, or a Fremen, or whatever you want to be in the game. [...] You're going to be able to jump into an ornithopter and fly around this crazy-looking ship [...] and see these huge sandworms come out the ground and spice blooms and all these crazy things. | „ |
~ Paxton Galvanek[95] |
“ | The game is not exactly based on the movie (or the first book). Hopefully I can talk about why that is one day soon. | „ |
~ Joel Bylos[96] |
“ | It's something a bit between [survival and MMO]. It's not a themepark - but it shares DNA with some of the older MMO branches. | „ |
~ Joel Bylos[97] |
- Funcom works closely with Legendary Entertainment to make sure they capitalize on the opportunities and synergies between the movie and the game and is applying learnings from Conan Exiles.[75]
Ports[]
- Currently none.
Employees[]
- See also: Credits for people who have worked on Conan Exiles.
Executive Management[]
Name | Position |
---|---|
Rui Casais | CEO |
Ole Schreiner | COO |
Stian Drageset | CFO |
Erling Ellingsen | VP of PR & Marketing |
Lawrence Poe | VP of Digital Products |
Management Board[]
Name | Position |
---|---|
Rui Casais | CEO |
Christian Olsthoorm | Managing Director of Funcom N.V. |
Supervisory Board[]
Name | Position |
---|---|
Ole Gladhaug | Chairman (Resigned September 30, 2019[98]) |
Andreas Arntzen | Member (Resigned September 30, 2019[98]) |
Alain Tascan | Vice-Chairman (Resigned October 31, 2018[99]) |
Fredrik Malmberg | Member |
Egil Kvannli | Member |
Susana Meza Graham | Member |
Careers[]
Name | Position | |
---|---|---|
Funcom Oslo | ||
Espen Bakken[100] | General Manager - Operations | |
Laura Domínguez Garcia[101] | HR Generalist | |
Lawrence Poe[102] | Chief Product Officer | |
Funcom Inc | ||
Paxton Galvanek[103] | Human Resource Manager - Operations | |
Scott Junior[104] | Executive Producer | |
Erik Willis[105] | Associate Technical Producer | |
Michael McGrath[106] | Senior Software Engineer |
Public Relations[]
Members of the PR team.[107]
Name | Position |
---|---|
Natascha Röösli |
|
Erling Ellingsen | Chief Marketing Officer |
Jens Erik Vaaler |
|
Tor Egil Andersen | Communications Manager |
Andy Benditt | Community Manager |
Nicole Vayo | Community Manager |
Investor Relations[]
“ | As of 1st November 2016 (excluding COO and CFO). The Management Board, the Chief Financial Officer and the Executive Vice President of Business Operations are the Company's spokesmen for contact with the financial markets. | „ |
~ [108] |
Name | Position |
---|---|
Ole Schreiner | COO |
Stian Drageset | CFO |
Alain Tascan | Chairman Remuneration Committee |
Fredrik Malmberg | Member Remuneration Committee |
Magnus Grøneng | Chairman Audit Committee |
Egil Kvannli | Member Audit Committee |
Official links[]
External links[]
Media[]
References[]
- ↑ "Announcement of completion of transfer of registered office to Norway, new ISIN, new home member state, etc." Investors, Funcom - July 3, 2020 (no longer available)
- ↑ "2019 Annual Financial Report" The Funcom Group, Funcom SE and subsidiaries; Investors, Funcom - April 23, 2020 (As of December 31, 2019)
- ↑ Jobs, Funcom
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Funcom opens office in China" GamesIndustry International, gamesindustry.biz - May 13, 2005
- ↑ "Tencent Plans To Buy Funcom, Like It Needs To Own More Game Companies" Kotaku - January 22, 2020
- ↑ "Funcom SE: Compulsory acquisition of shares" Investors, Funcom - July 14, 2020 (no longer available)
- ↑ "Funcom: 'You can't survive for 20 years without a few scars'" gamesindustry.biz - August 31, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Funcom: History, MobyGames
- ↑
“ Before Dreamfall had come to the stores, over 200,000 had downloaded it illegally. For each game sold, it is estimated to be between 3 and 10 times as many. Obviously, we and others in the industry are losing huge amounts of money on this. [...] We have decided to stop developing offline PC games. Piracy is the main reason for it.
[...] Many players who only rely on offline PC games have had big problems. For example, in France, the game industry is in crisis due to piracy, he says.
„ ~ "Pirater stopper offline PC-spill" Trond Arne Aas, Gunhild M. Haugnes; E24 - March 14, 2007 (Translated) - ↑ "Nytt MMO-spill fra Norge" Joachim Froholt, Gamer.no - March 11, 2008
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Funcom fires employees in 2008.
- ↑ "Age of Conan director leaves Funcom" Eurogamer - September 27, 2008
- ↑ "Nye millioner til Norske spill" Vegard Haug, Gamer.no - May 19, 2009
- ↑ "Funcom awarded $260,000 grant" Phil Elliott, gamesindustry.biz - November 4, 2009
- ↑ Hege Marie Brown, LinkedIn - May 2010
- ↑ "Nominated Games for Nordic Game Awards 2010 Revealed" IGN Staff, IGN - March 17, 2010
- ↑ "App Store name clashes continue as My Kingdom forced to rename as Merchant Kingdom" Jon Jordan, pocketgamer.biz - February 18, 2011
- ↑ Katerina Vellidi, LinkedIn - June 2010
- ↑ Peter Ilves, LinkedIn
- ↑ "Some information about possible future project for Stunlock" StunlockStudios, Blood Champions Forums - October 28, 2011 (archive)
- ↑ "Project O (arbeidstittel)" nfi.no - October 28, 2011 (archive)
- ↑ "Project O Demo" Stunlock Inactive, YouTube - August 14, 2013
- ↑ "Project O" Stunlock Studios
- ↑ "'The cultural test' and the state of Norwegian digital games" Sara Brinch, Academia.edu (Date published is unknown)
- ↑ "Fish Adventure and Brickizens" Neal, Rock Raiders United - November 13, 2016
- ↑ This was announced on the same day that the Q2 2017 report was released.
- ↑ "Funcom Livestream Schedule" Jens Erik, Funcom Forums - February 4, 2019
- ↑ "Acquisition in majority stake in Lisbon based game service studio ZPX" Investors, Funcom - January 8, 2019 (no longer available)
- ↑ "April Fools: The Night of the Lost Souls returns – and this time it'll be even more lost!" Dev Blog - April 1, 2019
- ↑ "Funcom announces new game" Investors, Funcom - April 10, 2019 (no longer available)
- ↑ "Conan Exiles Is Free to Play This Weekend" PR, Funcom - December 5, 2019
- ↑ https://pr.funcom.com/pressreleases/tencent-seeks-to-acquire-full-ownership-of-funcom-2963077 (no longer available)
- ↑ "Senior Character Artist" Jobs, Funcom
- ↑ "Funcom Licensing AS" Proff.no
- ↑ Funcom NC, Funcom
- ↑ About Us - Funcom
- ↑ ZPX - About Us (no longer available)
- ↑ https://jobs.funcom.com/jobs/1024557-associate-producer
- ↑ ZPX - Game development (no longer available)
- ↑ "Video game developer Funcom opens a studio in Bucharest" Grigoriada Stroe; Mihai Cristea, Business Review - June 30, 2021
- ↑ "Funcom Expands to Sweden and Romania" PR; Funcom - June 30, 2021
- ↑ Investors: Stock info, Funcom (no longer available)
- ↑ 43.0 43.1 "Funcom Acquires Full Control of Conan the Barbarian and Dozens of Other IPs" PR, Funcom - September 14, 2021
- ↑ An article on the history of Funcom Dublin Ltd.
- ↑ 45.0 45.1 45.2 "Funcom N.V. Voting Annual General Meeting" Funcom - June 27, 2017
- ↑ "Dreamfall - The Longest Journey Soundtrack EP" Discogs
- ↑ Funcom Sales GmbH in Liquidation, Moneyhouse
- ↑ Sweet Robot, Facebook - About (description)
- ↑ "Funcom opens new casual subsidiary" MCV/Develop - December 11, 2009
- ↑ "Pets vs Monsters Trailer" Funcom, YouTube - January 13, 2012
- ↑ Pets vs Monsters, Twitter
- ↑ "Sale of Plutolife AS" ABN Newswire - July 7, 2008
- ↑ 53.0 53.1 53.2 "Press Release: Update in connection with the announcement of intent to launch voluntary offer" Investors, Funcom - January 22, 2020 (no longer available)
- ↑ Funcom, Twitch
- ↑ 55.0 55.1 Q3 2018 Financial Report (25:00)
- ↑ Funcom SE: Board recommends voluntary cash offer by Tencent to acquire all shares in Funcom - Investors, Funcom - January 22, 2020 (no longer available)
- ↑ 57.0 57.1 57.2 57.3 57.4 57.5 "2019 Fourth Quarter Financial Report" The Funcom Group, Funcom SE and subsidiaries; Investors, Funcom - February 28. 2020
- ↑ "Funcom's upcoming games - PC Gaming Show 2019" PC Gamer, YouTube - June 11, 2019
- ↑ "Conan Chop Chop release moved to Q1 2020 to include online multi-player" PR, Funcom - August 26, 2019
- ↑ "Conan Chop Chop to Hit the Shop in Q2 2020" PR, Funcom - February 12, 2020
- ↑ "Conan Chop Chop release moved" PR, Funcom - June 27, 2020
- ↑ "Conan Chop Chop to Launch Early 2021 (And This Time We Really Mean It)TM" PR, Funcom - December 16, 2020
- ↑ "Conan Chop Chop Update" PR, Funcom - July 16, 2021
- ↑ "Press Release: Games update" Investors, Funcom - October 10, 2019 (no longer available)
- ↑ Steam
- ↑ Jobs, The Outsiders
- ↑ https://pr.funcom.com/pressreleases/funcom-reveals-new-rhythm-fps-metal-hellsinger-3007317
- ↑ https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/06/12/upcoming-metal-hellsinger-hardcore-rhythm-fps/
- ↑ 69.0 69.1 69.2 69.3 xPaw, GitHub - September 13, 2021 (archive); NVIDIA GeForce NOW leak ("Found 18K+ games on NVIDIA GeForce NOW" Ighor July, Medium - September 13, 2021)
- ↑ Xbox, Twitter - May 7, 2020
- ↑ 71.0 71.1 71.2 "2019 Third Quarter Financial Report" The Funcom Group, Funcom SE and subsidiaries; Investors, Funcom - August 26, 2019
- ↑ bludr, Twitter - July 2, 2020
- ↑ "Seasonal Greetings From the CEO" Rui Casais; PR, Funcom - December 17, 2020
- ↑ 74.0 74.1 Chris Myers, LinkedIn - March 2018
- ↑ 75.0 75.1 75.2 75.3 75.4 75.5 "2019 Second Quarter Financial Report" The Funcom Group, Funcom SE and subsidiaries; Investors, Funcom - August 26, 2019
- ↑ 76.0 76.1 Funcom: CEO, Rui Casais presents at Gaming Day 2019
- ↑ Evan Brooks, LinkedIn - October 2019
- ↑ 78.0 78.1 Funcom: Rui Manuel Monteiro Casais, CEO & Stian Drageset, CFO presents at Redeye Early Bird
- ↑ 79.0 79.1 79.2 79.3 79.4 79.5 79.6 Jobs, Funcom
- ↑ 80.0 80.1 80.2 Planned technical features combo
- ↑ (original report - "Funcom: Turnaround laddar för nya höjder - RedEye Initiating Coverage" RedEye - February 1, 2019 (SE))
- ↑ ("Funcom: Meager premium from Tencent - RedEye Research Note" RedEye - January 29, 2020)
- ↑ Joel Bylos, LinkedIn - October 2018
- ↑ Taku Wanifuchi, LinkedIn - April 2020
- ↑ WarpDigitalUK, Twitter - June 15, 2020
- ↑ "Microsoft announces over 140 studios working on Xbox Series X" Gematsu - May 7, 2020
- ↑ "Senior Animation Programmer" Jobs, Funcom (retrieved November 9, 2020)
- ↑ "Funcom N.V. enters into exclusive partnership with Legendary Entertainment for games in the Dune universe" Investors, Funcom - February 26, 2019 (no longer available)
- ↑ 89.0 89.1 Game Dev Camp 2019, Portugal
- ↑ https://jobs.funcom.com/jobs/1238034-qa-project-manager
- ↑ Careers, ZPX (no longer available)
- ↑ "Game Designer" Jobs, Funcom (retrieved April 16, 2021)
- ↑ 93.0 93.1 "Branding Yourself, Getting a Job in Game Dev, & Navigating the Industry" Paxton Galvanek; CarolinaGamesSummit, YouTube - August 8, 2021
- ↑ "Q3 financial presentation" Rui Casais and Stian Dragset, YouTube (originally on Twitch) - November 18, 2019 (Streamed November 11, 2019)
- ↑ "Dune the Game, Cyberpunk 2077 Mistakes, Next Gen Ray Tracing | Studio Director | Broken Silicon 117" Paxton Galvanek, Broken Silicon SoundCloud - September 7, 2021
- ↑ Joel Bylos; SecretsOfDune, Twitter - October 30, 2021
- ↑ Joel Bylos, Dune Discord - November 7, 2021 (games-of-dune)
- ↑ 98.0 98.1 Ole Gladhaug and Andreas Arntzen resigned (no longer available)
- ↑ Alain Tascan resigned (no longer available)
- ↑ Espen Bakken - Jobs, Funcom
- ↑ Laura Domínguez Garcia - Jobs, Funcom
- ↑ Lawrence Poe - Jobs, Funcom (no longer available)
- ↑ Paxton Galvanek - Jobs, Funcom
- ↑ Scott Junior - Jobs, Funcom
- ↑ Erik Willis - Jobs, Funcom
- ↑ Michael McGrath - Jobs, Funcom (no longer available)
- ↑ Public Relations
- ↑ Investor Relations (no longer available)