14 DAY TRIAL // Funcom, the developer and the publisher of the Age of Conan MMO, has presented its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2008 and they aren't good at all. The company says that it has lost no less than 23.3 million dollars, with the main reason being pointed out as the less than stellar performance of Age of Conan.
The results were the main cause behind at least one resignation, that of the Chief Financial Officer, Olav Sandnes. He stated that “Funcom is a company with a substantial potential based on a unique combination of skill sets in a fast growing global market. I wish Trond Aas and the rest of the organization all the best in realizing the full potential of the company.”
Overall, the company has lost 33.8 million over 2008. Funcom still has around 39 million dollars in reserves, so the operations of the company will not be affected for the time being. Still, the fact that subscriptions for Age of Conan have fallen below the 100,000 mark is troubling. Initially, the game sold 400,000 copies and it then reached a peak level of 700,000 subscribers. Funcom says that “Age of Conan was the third best-selling PC game in 2008 in the US market, after World of Warcraft and Spore” but it seems that the game faced a problem defined as “shorter average subscription periods than anticipated.”
Funcom has already reduced the number of game servers for the MMO, taking them from 49 down to 18. If subscription numbers continue to fall, Funcom might need to so something more radical regarding Age of Conan, like offering longer trial periods or cutting the cost of playing the game.
If all that fails, we could see another MMO going down. Two high profile launches, Tabula Rasa and Hellgate: London, have already been named as ceasing activity in 2009 and Age of Conan might join their ranks.