The two massively multiplayer online role-playing games to have been released in 2008 were Mythic Entertainment's Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning and Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Last year, the MMORPG market also saw the launch of the Wrath of the Lich King, the expansion for World of Warcraft. Unfortunately for them, the two brand-new MMOs weren't able to even make Blizzard's giant flinch, and both games found themselves in a tight spot.

After Mythic Entertainment just recently launched its ensnaring ploy to bring more players to its game, it's time for Funcom to try to recruit more grinders for Age of Conan. While Mythic gave its MMO an endless trial version for everyone, AoC has decided for a more traditional, special offer for subscriptions. The deal is pretty simple, purchase one package-deal and get something extra in it. The exact details of the new Age of Conan subscription policy are:

- Subscribing for one month gives seven days extra game time for no additional cost.
- Subscribing for three months also guarantees a spot in open beta for The Secret World.
- Subscribing for six months also gives a level 40 helmet with a ten-percent XP modifier.
- Subscribing for 12 months also gives a free copy of the Rise of the Godslayer expansion.

The offers are cumulative, unlike many MMORPG DoT spells, so, if you purchase a superior tier deal, you will also get the special offers that the lesser ones grant. The one thing we can see from this offer is that, apparently, not even Funcom thinks it has any good things right now. Two of the special subscription bonuses are products not yet available, with Rise of the Godslayer not yet dated, just like The Secret World.

Funcom's upcoming MMO, The Secret World, will throw players into an alternate universe, in which modern society has been greatly influenced by the works of magic and the occult. The game had already been delayed once, as the company moved some of its workers from its Norwegian headquarters to a new location in Montreal, so it may take a while before that beta kicks in.