Tag: Anarchy Online

Anarchy Online Releases On Steam


Funcom has announced that its science fiction MMO Anarchy Online is now available on Steam. The game is free to play and can be downloaded here.

“Anarchy Online is one of the longest living online games in the world and millions of players have made the planet of Rubi-ka their home,” said Funcom CEO Rui Casais. “Bringing the game to Steam is something we have wanted to do for a while and we hope this will bring in new players as well as inspire veterans to come back now that it is easier than ever to travel to Rubi-ka again.”

Anarchy Online originally launched in June 2001. Funcom recently stated in a quarterly report that active development on the title had ceased.

Funcom Ends Major Updates For Anarchy Online/Age of Conan


In their latest quarterly report, Funcom has announced that there is no further significant work expected for both Anarchy Online and Age of Conan. Both games are presumably still profitable as they contributed a heavy portion of Funcom’s revenue this past quarter, however as far as development costs go it looks like the writing is on the wall for both titles to enter maintenance mode. The report doesn’t go into detail on what Funcom considers to be “significant work,” which may relegate both titles to bug fixes, server maintenance, and perhaps small chunks of content.

For gamers, the concept of depreciation is well known when it comes to live games and support from developers. It makes sense, as games age and with a few exceptions, they inevitably decrease in population, and thus revenue stream, and thus the ability to support themselves. Funcom has been referencing this for years in their quarterly reports, and it only seems inevitable that older titles like Anarchy Online (a 2001 release) will hit a point where simple cost of operations is higher than its income.

(Source: Funcom)

Funcom Celebrating 15 Years of Anarchy Online


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Funcom is excited to announce that‘Anarchy Online’, the first Sci-Fi MMORPG and one of the longest-running titles in the genre, celebrates its 15th anniversary today!

As part of the celebration, Funcom invites everyone who has ever played‘Anarchy Online’ to join in the festivities between June 23rd and July 11th (regardless of current Membership status).  New Membership offers, with brand new armor pieces, login rewards and the Desert Rider event are also part of the grand 15th anniversary celebration!

Included with the anniversary is an all new Game Update which changes the Player vs Player attack windows on Notum Tower fields, where players battle for dominance over the planet Rubi-Ka. The update also introduces a new Research Line for end-game players, with powerful skill increases, and adds new Veteran Shop rewards with bonus Veteran Points for existing members.
Read more about the celebration and game update here

“I wish to thank everyone who has been part of this extraordinary journey,” said‘Anarchy Online’ Lead Designer Henry Senger.  “Anarchy Online’s incredible community has always been the heart and soul of the game, and I also wish to thank everyone who will continue the adventure with us, so we may go on for another 15 years!”

Released in 2001, ‘Anarchy Online’ shaped the face of the MMORPG genre with its Science-Fiction setting and innovative features, including dynamic missions, item levels, and instancing.  A Beta version of a new ‘Anarchy Online’ rendering engine was released last year, and thousands upon thousands of players continue to explore the world of Rubi-ka today.

For more information about ‘Anarchy Online’ or to play for free, please visit the official website at http://www.anarchy-online.com/ .

Anarchy Online is one of the oldest available MMORPG’s on the market, one that might not appeal much to modern day gamers but one with a rather loyal player base. According to Funcom’s reports, the game remains profitable and as such will likely be going nowhere anytime soon.

(Source: Funcom Press Release)

Anarchy Online’s New Graphics Engine Releases


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The wait for Anarchy Online’s new engine dates back to MMO Fallout’s infancy, literally. We’ve been around since July 2009, and the new engine was uncovered that December. Players who have stuck around have a good reason to rejoice, as Funcom has announced that the new engine is finally available on the live server. The new engine comes at the cost of a 5gb installer and a 23gb installation.

(Source: Funcom)

MMO Hall of Fame Inducts Two New Games


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The MMO Hall of Fame has announced the inductees for the 2015 ceremony. Out of a grand total of 173 candidates, two titles managed to sneak past the 60% requirement to make it into the hall of fame, and those games are Lineage II and Anarchy Online.

Doug Kale, curator of the hall of fame, noted the growing competition as new games are added each year.

“There was an enormous amount of competition, but after tallying all the numbers only two games reached the required 60% of the votes to enter the Hall of Fame,”

MMO Hall of Fame inductees are chosen based on contributions to the genre as well as their dedicated fans, with a voting committee made up of members of the MMO industry and gaming press.

Some of the highest voted games include Second Life, Maple Story, Toontown, and Pirates of the Burning Sea.

(Source: MMO Hall of Fame)

Anarchy Online Introduces PLEX, But Not For Free Players


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Funcom is jumping on board the PLEX train with the introduction of GRACE to Anarchy Online. GRACE, or Grid Access Credit Extension, costs $14.95 USD, and adds 30 days of game time to an account. GRACE can only be traded through the in-game market, does not count towards your market inventory limit, and cannot be withdrawn or traded through mail. Free players cannot use GRACE to upgrade their accounts without subscribing, as free accounts do not have access to the market and that is the only way to obtain the item from other players.

Free players will need to buy a subscription before they are able to purchase and use GRACE.

(Source: Anarchy Online)

Funcom Offices Raided By Economic Crime Unit


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News out of Norway is that Funcom employees showing up to work this morning were met by the economic crimes unit Økokrim. Police raided the Funcom offices, retrieving boxes full of seized documents. According to News in English, the raid is related to an investigation over whether or not Funcom breached disclosure requirements related to The Secret World, as well as who had access to inside information leading up to the game’s release. Funcom is also being charged with negligent bookkeeping according to a news post on the Oslo stock exchange, from which the company has been delisted until the investigation is complete.

This isn’t the first time that The Secret World has landed someone in hot water. Funcom’s former CEO Tron Aas came under investigation after he left his position and offloaded his shares of Funcom the day before The Secret World launched and Funcom’s stock plummeted. Employees have reportedly been sent home for the day.

(Source: News in English)

Anarchy Online Engine Upgrade Is Real, And Coming


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The Anarchy Online engine upgrade is on its way. Stop laughing, I’m serious, it’s coming, and sooner than you think. Funcom has released their monthly behind the scenes for Anarchy Online, revealing that closed beta isn’t just coming, it is practically here. Signps are expected to open soon for the closed beta, during which players will (understandably) be under a nondisclosure agreement. Following a period of testing, the update will go into open beta, after which it will launch to the general public. If you already know how the beta process works, ignore that previous paragraph.

Also in the news for Anarchy Online is an accompanying cash shop revamp and new player experience, the former of which is available now and the latter of which will accompany the new engine.

(Source: Anarchy Online)

Funcom Bigwigs Weigh In On Relocation


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With the recent layoffs Funcom’s Montreal/Raleigh offices and closure of Funcom’s Beijing office, everyone is asking: What does this mean for Age of Conan? Or The Secret World? Or Anarchy Online? Or that Lego Minifigure MMO? Or that kid’s game you probably never heard of? Each of the game’s directors have written their own letters to the community this morning, giving some insight into how things will be changing down the road ahead.

Craig Morrison stepped up on the Age of Conan website to discuss future content. There’s no point in sugar coating it, as Morrison says, and development will be affected by the layoffs and consolidation of the development teams. Development on Dragonspine content, as well as the trade-skill revamp and more are still in progress with most of the content still on track for release this year. Over at The Secret World, Joel Bylos discussed similarly that development will hit some turbulence due to the consolidation of the development teams into one studio, and the loss of employees unwilling to relocate as part of the restructuring. He goes on to say that The Secret World still has a strong development team, and that Issue #6 is on track to launch at the end of February, containing new content set in Egypt as well as improvements to the game’s PvP, among other additions.

Overall, the message is pretty similar: Expect some bumps in the road for the near future, after which Funcom hopes to get everything ironed out and resume normal operations. It appears that, while they may take more time, pretty much all of the content that was in development for Funcom’s MMOs prior to the shift are still on their way, even if they take a bit longer than hoped for.

70,000 Copies of The Secret World Sold Since Buy To Play


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Alright, so first the bad news. Funcom has released a brand new press release where they discuss that the company will be undergoing some continued restructuring. Costs will be reduced through the closure and consolidation of offices to create a more unified organization. The goal is to use Funcom’s new streamlined technology to better serve their existing MMOs (Secret World, Anarchy Online, Age of Conan) as well as focusing on upcoming, smaller yet high quality titles including the Lego minifigure MMO. The good news, however, is that The Secret World’s transition to buy to play was a completely unsurprising success. Since December, over seventy thousand new units of The Secret World have been sold. As new players come into the game and old players return, activity levels in game have jumped 400%.

“We are building the basis of a very sustainable business. With a restructured organization, we will have a joint team of the best-of-the-best working together to expand our existing online worlds and to create new, exciting and memorable online experiences such as our upcoming ‘LEGO Minifigures’ game.”
-Ole Schreiner, CEO of Funcom

More details will be available in the future, once the process is complete.

(Source: Funcom)