Over 500K have registered for Secret World's beta
As professional, respected, tweed-wearing writers, we here at Joystiq consider it part of our job to protect the sanctity of the written word. It's in that capacity we're staging this intervention with Funcom.
Funcom, we're sure your team was excited when you announced today that over 500,000 people have registered for The Secret World beta. But while that's a catchy name, we're just not sure you can continue to call it that with a straight face. Observe:
"I have a secret little out-of-the-way spot I like to go for lunch, it's called Hardee's."
"My secret spice? Shh, come close ... it's called salt."
"I've got a secret method for keeping my car running well: Gas."
Might we suggest "Popular World" (which unfortunately sounds a little like a Facebook game for tweens) or perhaps "Cool World" (which not unfortunately sounds exactly like Cool World)?
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OVER 500,000 registered for 'THE SECRET WORLD' beta
– Funcom experiencing massive interest for 'The Secret World', with over half a million gamers having registered for the beta –
Durham, USA – October 25th, 2011 – World-leading independent game developer Funcom is pleased to announce that over half a million people have registered to participate in the ongoing beta testing of 'The Secret World'. 'The Secret World' is being published by Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS).
Almost everyone joining the community has chosen to affiliate themselves with one of the game's three secret societies – the Illuminati, the Dragon, and the Templars – fueling the conflict that is already emerging on forums and social media channels everywhere.
"We are thrilled to see the amount of interest 'The Secret World' is generating among gamers and the press, and exceeding half a million beta registrations six months before release is definitely something we are proud of," says Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas. "The gamer interest in 'The Secret World' and the community size for the game is even greater than we experienced with 'Age of Conan' at the same stage of development. We expect the community size to keep on expanding at an ever faster pace in the coming months as we approach Open Beta and launch."
'Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures' proved to be a major sales success for Funcom, with over one million copies sold in the first twelve months after release in May, 2008. This made 'Age of Conan' one of the best-selling PC games of 2008, and the game has now sold over 1.4 million copies worldwide.
Crowned the 'Most Anticipated MMO' at PAX 2011 by genre-leading website MMORPG.com, 'The Secret World' is scheduled to launch for the PC in April 2012 and is currently undergoing thorough beta testing in parallel with development. Funcom continues to invite more testers over time, and will be initiating several different phases of beta leading up to release in order to secure the smoothest possible launch. Beta testers are actively contributing to the development of the game by providing input on game design, mechanics, balance and more.
'The Secret World' invites players into a modern-day, real-world setting where secret societies pull the strings of kings and presidents, and where the player will break free from the confinements of classes and levels using a freeform progression system. The game is being brought to life by the experienced MMO developers at Funcom, led by the award-winning game designer Ragnar Tørnquist.
Tørnquist has previously led the development of other Funcom titles such as 'The Longest Journey' and 'Dreamfall', both of which have won several key industry awards.
Those looking to join the beta test can sign up via the official site at www.thesecretworld.com.
