Funcom – Page 8 – MMO Fallout

Funcom Q3 2014 Financials

Funcom has released their third quarter finances for 2014 and the results are decidedly negative. Revenues for the quarter decreased from $3.1 million last quarter to $2.6 million this quarter. Funcom’s main source of revenue last quarter derived from the cash-positive operations of Age of Conan and The Secret World, while revenue overall fell due to weak in-game sales from $3.1 million to $2.6 million.

This past quarter saw the release of two mission packs in The Secret World, as well as updated versions of high-end raids in Age of Conan. Issue #10 of The Secret World is expected to go live later this holiday season. Lego Minifigures Online left open beta on October 1st and has since failed to meet expectations of player numbers and revenue. The game will be released on Mac as well as iOS and Android operating systems in 2015.

And finally, the release notes that Funcom has the has the ability to fund its operations for the next twelve months, continuing to support its games and work on the development of a new title in 2015.

(Source: Funcom)

Funcom Revenues Drop In 2nd Quarter

Funcom has released their second quarter finances and the results are disappointing to say the least. Revenue dropped to $3.19 million USD from $3.83 million last quarter while operating costs rose to $3.67 million in the same quarter. During the second quarter, Funcom initiated several marketing campaigns to increase traffic activity in their games. Traffic for Age of Conan and Anarchy Online were relatively stable, while The Secret World saw increased activity over the summer with the launch of the latest content update.

Lego Minifigures is still on track for release in October this year, with open beta ongoing and reportedly receiving a positive response from testers. In the third quarter, Funcom expects operating costs to remain consistent with revenues continuing their downward trend.

(Source: Funcom)

Anarchy Online Introduces PLEX, But Not For Free Players

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GRACE can only be traded through the in-game market, does not count towards your market inventory limit, and cannot be withdrawn or traded through mail.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)

The Secret World Second Anniversary Kicks Off

The Secret World has kicked off its second anniversary with golems once again invading the world, as well as new world bosses in Tokyo. Yes, I said Tokyo.

Many hours of new content is also introduced with a new mission pack for the Tokyo game zone called Side Stories: Love & Loathing. Here players get to fight off the demonic invasion of Tokyo or try their hand at complex Origami in a deep Investigation Mission, among many other challenges.

All players will enjoy double experience, extra tokens, and free membership for recruiting.

(Source: Funcom press release)

Lego Minifigures Now In Beta

Lego Minifigures has gone into open beta. The game is currently available in English on the PC with further localizations and platforms (tablet) coming further down the line. In order to play, you’ll need a Lego account as the game does not go through Funcom’s account system. The open beta aims to tweak game mechanics and the in-game store to the community’s preferences, so get in and have your voice heard.

(Source: Lego Minifigures)

Black Watchman ARG Falls Short of Goal

The Black Watchmen was an experiment set up to become the first permanent ARG, set to launch in September and crowdfunded through MMORPG.com. Unfortunately, the drive came short of its $100,000 goal, and as a result all donations will be refunded.

To all agents,

We managed an incredible mobilization here, we’ve raised $ 54,362 with a common goal: to create the first ever Persistant ARG. Hopes where high when a couple of players, through word of mouth, helped us to get nearer our goal from 35% to 39% in ONLY one night. We had the chance to meet people as dedicated as we were to the project and we wish to give a big thank you to everyone who stood by our side until the end.

We also wish to give a special thanks to Robert Bannon and the Paradigm Symposium; who pledged $5,000 for a real life mission and to also offer a booth so we could recruit player at the next convention
Unfortunately, rules are rules, and we will start the refund of all pledges. In the next 7 to 10 days, you should expect a full refund if you were with Crowdtilt, and a small fee (2.5%) deducted from your refund if you pledged via PayPal.

(Source: MMORPG.com)

Funcom Q1 2014 Finances

Funcom has released their quarterly returns for the first quarter of 2014, and the results are certainly interesting to look at. Revenues have remained relatively stable, decreasing slightly to $3.8 million from $4.2 million last quarter. Funcom has seen a steady decrease in revenue since the launch of The Secret World, with revenues at nearly half of what they were in the first quarter of last year, $6.3 million. Despite the lowered revenue, Funcom’s cash position improved from $2.5 to $2.8 million over last quarter. The company also noted that 15 million shares were sold to the tune of $5.5 million which was used to pay interest bearing debt.

The upcoming Lego Minifigures video game hit all of its major milestones and is on course for a beta launch in June 2014 and a commercial launch later this year. Nothing has changed regarding last year’s investigation into Funcom by Økokrim. Funcom’s offices were raided last year by the Norway’s economic crimes unit and is currently being investigated for possible insider trading and negligence. There are no details on how long the investigation will take.

(Source: Funcom presentation)

Age of Conan Turns Six

Age of Conan turns six years old, and Funcom is celebrating by launching the Shadows of the Past event and Festival of Bloodshed. Shadows of the Past tasks players with uncovering a plot to bring down King Conan and will take them on a trip down memory lane to where it all began: Tortage island. Festival of Bloodshed introduces a new PvP system where players participate in week-long events each month. The system includes new PvP quests, new events, rewards, and a companion who taunts nearby players based on their number of PvP deaths.

I hope I don’t come across this companion.

(Source: Funcom press release)

Funcom Management Pulled Mankini

Those of you who follow The Secret World likely already know the story, but last week saw the addition and sudden removal of a mankini outfit from the in-game cash shop as part of the April Fool’s day patch. Not only was the item removed from the game without explanation, it was also removed and a refund applied to those who had already purchased the suit.

Joel Bylos posted on the official forums to explain that miscommunication caused the

To be clear: the Mankini outfit (and the wetsuit) was definitely an April Fool’s joke, and it was always my intention to have them be available for a limited time only in the store. However, it was never my intention to pull them from players who actually bought these items. Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication between my team and Funcom management on how this was to be handled. Funcom management feels strongly that the Mankini outfit goes against what The Secret World intellectual property (IP) is all about and they did not want this item to stay in the game permanently.

Bylos assured the community that Funcom is working to ensure that such a situation is not repeated in the future.

(Source: TSW Forums)

Funcom's 2013 Income Drops

Funcom has released their Q4 2013 finances and the results are a mixed bag, mostly leaning towards the negative. Revenues in the fourth quarter dipped below last quarter, $4.2 million compared to $5.3 million and far below the same period last year. Losses in revenue pointed toward weak sales due to increased competition in 2013. Funcom has continued to invest in LEGO Minifigures Online as well as the Dreamworld platform so that the former is compatible across multiple systems, including mobile devices.

The new strategy for 2014 is to increase communication with press and analysts on where the developer is headed in the future. As announced in 2012, the new strategy is to build mid-core focused games with smaller budgets and shorter development times using smaller teams. Also among the list of goals is to build games around known brands, hence the Lego Minifigures title. With the introduction of the Dreamworld technology, Funcom’s future games will be compatible with iOS and Android platforms.

Funcom’s large scale MMOs saw a decrease in activity level due to increased competition in the last quarter, which the developer has responded to with increased marketing campaigns that have resulted in higher activity and revenue in the early first quarter. Numbers and revenue in Age of Conan and Anarchy Online remained mostly stable, and all games are currently considered cash flow positive. The Lego Minifigures game is on track for an open beta this summer, with a tablet version available sometime this year. Lego Minifigures will be free to play with microtransactions, membership benefits, or some mixture of both.

As many of our readers know, Funcom is currently being investigated by Økokrim, Norway’s economic crimes unit, on suspicion of insider trading and negligence in information given to the market leading up to the launch of The Secret World. So far no employees have been charged and Funcom has not been informed as to how long the process will take.

(Source: Funcom Earnings Release)

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