Funcom's 'The Secret World' to be co-published by EA
As the corpses of Asheron's Call 2, Auto Assault, Tabula Rasa and others will attest, it's tough to get an MMO up and running. Now, it seems that Funcom's upcoming challenger, The Secret World, will have a little more muscle behind it as EA revealed today it will co-publish the game.
EA's involvement is no doubt encouraging for those following the project, though it's not necessarily a guarantee of success. Over the past decade, the publisher has had a hand in plenty of MMO projects that quickly withered and died, including The Sims Online, Motor City Online, Earth and Beyond and Hellgate: London -- if you want to count that. one (We do.)
That said, we're rooting for The Secret World, if only so we never have to go through this sort of heartbreak again.
Show full PR text
Funcom and EA to co-publish 'The Secret World' MMO
Award-winning independent developer Funcom and global game publisher EA set to co-publish Funcom's upcoming modern-day MMO 'The Secret World'
Durham, USA – January 10th, 2011 – Funcom, the award-winning game developer responsible for titles such as 'Anarchy Online' and 'Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures', and EA Partners, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS), today announced their agreement to co-publish Funcom's highly anticipated modern-day massively multiplayer online game 'The Secret World'. Hundreds of thousands of gamers have joined the ever-growing community surrounding the game, and have – even before launch – become active members in the game's secret societies: the Illuminati, the Dragon and the Templar.
"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Funcom, one of the world-leaders in the development of massively multiplayer online games," says David DeMartini, Senior Vice President and General Manager of EA Partners. "We are very excited to be able to take part in the growing online gaming category with such a highly anticipated title as 'The Secret World'."
'The Secret World' is a next-generation massively multiplayer online game for the PC platform, where players are given total freedom to create and progress their characters, unbound by the restrictions of classes and levels. Players will get the opportunity to join one of the three secret societies and fight for power over important locations throughout our own world. Players will also journey through familiar places across the globe, such as Egypt, New England, London, New York and Seoul and battle monsters of myth and legend.
"We are tremendously excited to be working with what is undoubtedly the world-leading games publisher for the past decade, and it is also a great testament to the fantastic work of our development team," says Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas. "The experience and the knowledge that Electronic Arts brings to the table will be instrumental in allowing us to realize the full potential of 'The Secret World'."
'The Secret World' is Funcom's third massively multiplayer game, having previously developed the award-winning 'Anarchy Online' and the best selling new MMO of 2008 'Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures'. No release date has been announced.
For more information, visit the official website at www.darkdaysarecoming.com.
