Funcom: It’s not the beginning of the end for AoC

Recent Age of Conan server mergers do not mark the beginning of the end for the MMO, developer Funcom has insisted.

Speaking to VideoGamer.com in an interview to be published tomorrow, the developer hit back at concerns over the future of the game following recent server mergers, describing the move as an “opportunity” to improve the gameplay.

Earlier this month the Norwegian developer announced plans to combine the game’s servers, bringing the total down to 18 from 49.

Some commentators took the server merge as evidence of the decline of the MMO, which released to much fanfare and positive reviews in May last year.

However, the game’s product manager, Erling Ellingsen, told VideoGamer.com that the game is “definitely going to exist” and “as long as enough people are playing we’re going to keep it running”.

He said: “It’s definitely not the beginning of the end at all. It’s an opportunity for us to improve the gameplay for the people who are already playing and hopefully that will generate a more positive word of mouth. I believe it’s going to have a very positive effect.”

Although Funcom has so far refused to disclose active subscriber levels for the game, Ellingsen admitted that “the longevity of the subscribers hasn’t been as good as we had hoped”.

“The initial sales have definitely met our expectations,” he said. “But the longevity of the subscribers hasn’t been as good as we had hoped. Improving upon that longevity has been one of our main goals these past months, and what we’re seeing is that there are positive trends right now. People are really reacting well to the updates that we’re doing, and we’re seeing both returning customers as well as better longevity. We will continue with the updates, and there’s a lot of exciting content in the months ahead that I hope will have a positive effect.”

Check back tomorrow for the interview with Funcom’s Erling Ellingsen in full.