Funcom, the company developing the popular Age of Conan MMORPG, have announced that they will be co-publishing the game with SCi/Eidos.

Funcom and SCi/Eidos sign co-publishing agreement for ?Age of Conan?  

- The highly anticipated MMO has March to May as new launch window ¨C

Oslo, Norway - July 24, 2006 ¨C Funcom announces the signing of a co-publishing agreement with SCi/Eidos for ¡®Age of Conan¡¯, the highly anticipated Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMO). Under the terms of the agreement, SCi/Eidos is to publish the boxed product of ¡®Age of Conan¡¯ while Funcom retains digital distribution rights. The agreement gives SCi/Eidos distribution rights for North America, Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Funcom will operate servers and provide customer service for the game and collect and retain subscription revenues.

The two parties have agreed to set the new launch window between March and May 2007. The contract contains specific sales targets, which, if met, will make ¡®Age of Conan¡¯ a highly successful game. The PC version of ¡®Age of Conan¡¯ is currently in the Beta phase of development and Funcom and SCi/Eidos are pleased with the status of the game. Funcom and SCi/Eidos will also co-operate to bring the game to the console market.

¡°We are very excited to work with SCi/Eidos on the publishing of Age of Conan,¡± said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. ¡°SCi/Eidos has proven their strength in PR, marketing and distribution with series like Hitman and Tomb Raider, and we couldn¡¯t be more pleased with our co-publishing partner. Our two companies share a strong commitment and ambition for the game, and we feel certain the partnership will increase the likelihood of success and the total sales potential for the game.¡±

¡°We have strong faith in the sales potential for ¡®Age of Conan¡¯, and by combining the knowledge and reach of both SCi/Eidos and Funcom we believe the game will become a great success,¡± said Ian Livingstone, Product Acquisition Director of Eidos. ¡°The many E3 awards, the extensive worldwide press coverage, the vibrant online player community, the strong global brand and Funcom¡¯s extensive MMO experience are all factors which bode well for the future of ¡®Age of Conan¡¯, and we will do our best to contribute to making it into a successful MMO franchise in the years to come.¡±

¡®Age of Conan¡¯ is a Showcase title for Windows Vista, and the game recently won the ¡°Best MMO of E3¡± awards from IGN, GameSpot, GameSpy and Yahoo Games. More information, screenshots, forums, newsletter sign-up and a welcoming community portal can be found on the official website www.ageofconan.com.