Would you like a bit of good news for MMOs? Because we’ve got some. It’s from Funcom. Funcom killed it in 2018.
“2018 is our best year to date. A year marked by the full release of Conan Exiles, by the acquisition of 50% of the IP rights for Conan and other properties for games, by the investment from Swedbank Robur to fuel our publishing strategy and by the launch of our first published game under this strategy – Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden,” Funcom CEO Rui Casais told investors. Revenues were up 166% QOQ too, with annual revenues increasing by almost half over 2017, making 2018 the “most profitable year in Funcom history.”
Apparently, the studio’s also picked up a six-year “exclusive partnership” to build “at least three” PC/console games in Frank Herbert’s DUNE universe. Get excited, MMO people:
“This is a six year partnership to release at least three titles on the PC/Console platforms, with one of the games planned to be in the ‘Open World Multiplayer’ genre that will enter into pre-production in Funcom’s Oslo studio during 2019.”
The report also reiterates that Conan Unconquered (the RTS) will land in Q2 2019, as will a new PC/console Halloween title by Rock Pocket “based on a Funcom IP.” That’s in addition to the single-player Conan game underway and the co-op online shooter using a Heroic Signatures IP – both of those are slated for next year.
Secret World Legends, Anarchy Online, and Age of Conan are not mentioned in the fuller report beyond a recap of their fourth quarter activities. There’s no mention of the Secret World TV show backed by Johnny Depp, either.
