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The Secret World ARG launches as social experience winds down
The Secret World's Secret War social experience has run its course and come to a close after an exciting five weeks. More than 250,000 people participated in the war, rallying to the cause of their chosen secret society, filling forums with discussion and theories and welcoming each new War Challenge as it was rolled out. Along the way, players have been unlocking items for use in TSW, with a special few winning the opportunity to have their name in-game and an even more special few winning a trip to visit the dev team. But that's the past, and now the glorious present awaits you. Three new videos have made their way onto The Secret War's page and each one holds a clue. The clues lead to different puzzles (one for each secret society) for players to solve. That's about all there is to know about these puzzles so far, but we're promised that they are "the start of a very exciting adventure" for participants -- so pull out your tinfoil hats and get crackin'! [Source: Funcom press release]
The Secret War draws over 200,000 players to its Facebook battle
Funcom's Facebook prologue to The Secret World is a sizable success, even if it had a rocky beginning. The studio reports that over 200,000 players have taken the side of one of the game's three factions and are supporting their side through this "unique browser-based social experience." Over the course of two weeks, participants have unleashed 50 million agents as part of the event, visited the site 1,200,000 times, and spent an average of 20 minutes each visit participating in the game. Since launching The Secret War, Funcom's added goals for the factions to work toward each week. The current prize is a Heart of Africa health talisman. Two-hundred thousand participants is a solid win for Senior Vice President Morten Larssen, who sees this as an excellent way to prepare players for the factional struggle of the MMO: "This conflict has always been a key driver for activity in our own community, and we are excited to see that more and more people are coming in to join the conflict from outside the community as well." [Source: Funcom press release]
Funcom temporarily takes The Secret World Facebook tie-in offline
Earlier today Funcom pulled its new Secret War game from Facebook. The minigame launched yesterday in an attempt to drum up interest in the upcoming The Secret World MMO. We've received a few news tips and heard a few rumors as to why the game was taken offline, so we decided to contact Funcom directly for the full scoop. Director of communications Erling Ellingsen gave us the low-down: What's happened is that the activity levels on sharing to Facebook has been significantly higher than expected, and we have been asked by Facebook to make certain adjustments. So we are taking down the experience now and will be bringing it up again once the necessary adjustments have been made. Even shortly after launch yesterday we had tens of thousands of people playing and sharing actively, so the interest for the experience has been very high. And there you have it. We'll update the story as Funcom brings The Secret War back online or if there are any further developments. [Thanks to Adam for the tip!]
Funcom giving away in-game prizes, studio trips via The Secret World Facebook tie-in
There's something decidedly ironic about a conspiracy-laden game rife with (fictional) secrets and sensitive information taking to Facebook to advertise itself. Funcom's new The Secret World MMO is doing just that, though, thanks to a tie-in game called The Secret War that kicked off last night. Docholidaymmo.com reports that the new Facebook game grants in-game prizes for The Secret World (in the form of cosmetic gear, potions, and starter weapons). Funcom is also giving away eight trips to its Montreal development studio as well as a chance to get your name embedded in The Secret World's retail client. Still not enough for you? How about chances to win access to the title's upcoming beta weekends? You'll need to head to the official Secret War site and link your Facebook account (or your fake Facebook account, according to the report). After you've done so, each of your Facebook friends who is playing the game will go into your pool of agents and may be assigned toward the ultimate goal of world domination. The Secret World is now available for pre-order and launches June 19th.
The Secret World beta coming 'before Christmas,' forums erupt [Updated]
Conspiracy theories abound on The Secret World's official forums due to a video released by the Montreal Gazette in which Funcom Canada CEO Miguel Caron mentions that the studio is aiming to open beta testing "before Christmas." Caron also goes on to mention that subscription fees for the game will be somewhere between $15 and $17. Needless to say, the forums are in a flurry over this new information. What does this mean for The Secret War, which was intended to grant guaranteed beta access to high-ranking players? Why begin an open beta a whole four months prior to launch? And for the love of all that's sacred, what about those Sanctuary of Secrets tokens we got months ago? Well, no one knows! Funcom has been tight-lipped on the matter, but stay tuned and we'll be sure to let you know as more news develops. Meanwhile, head on over to the official forums to join the fray, or jump past the cut for the video. [Update: Funcom has responded to these rumors and says open beta will not begin before Christmas of this year.]
The Secret World lures half a million potential beta testers into the underworld
Funcom's The Secret World may be about underworld societies waging a "behind the curtains" war against forces of darkness, but the beta signup is anything but secret. Over 500,000 potential testers have signed up on the MMO's website since Funcom opened beta registrations a month ago. Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas says this is bigger than anything the studio has seen to date: "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. 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." The Secret World is scheduled to launch April 2012 and will be subscription-based with optional microtransactions on top of that.
The Secret World dev diary video delves into The Secret War
Time to don your tin-foil hats, conspiracy theorists. It's time once again to delve into the mysteries of The Secret World. Funcom has released a new developer diary video outlining The Secret War, which is the PvP component of the upcoming horror title. We got our first look at the PvP aspect of the game back in August at PAX Prime. This is the first time, however, that we have video to show players just what they can expect from the three-faction paranormal brawls. The video highlights both small-scale PvP, such as the game's Stonehenge and El Dorado battlefields, and the game's large-scale, persistent PvP. For the full video, click on past the cut. %Gallery-72395%
PAX 2011: Funcom discusses The Secret World's PvP, ARG, and more
Funcom had an impressive presence at PAX Prime 2011, and along with that presence came a wealth of information about its upcoming horror MMORPG, The Secret World. In addition to showing off the Polaris five-man instance, the team also highlighted a new solo mission demo and revealed some new information about the title. From missions to PvP to character progression, the team had a lot to say. For the full details on both small- and large-scale PvP, skill progression, and the game's ARG and puzzle elements, head on past the cut.
Beta registration open for The Secret World
Despite its mysterious title, it seems The Secret World just can't stay out of the public eye. The gates will soon be swung wide, as registrations for the beta are now underway. It's not quite as simple as filling in your email address and hitting "submit," however. Players will have to choose a faction – Illuminati, Templars or Dragon – and join The Secret War, which requires a Facebook connection. The Secret War, not too surprisingly, is a social media game designed to spread the word about The Secret World (again, a bit counterintuitive, no?). In return for taking part in game, players can unlock in-game items for The Secret World and even guaranteed beta access. Sign up for the beta, and thus The Secret War, at The Secret World website.
The Secret World's beta signup postponed
Those of you all hot and bothered for the start of The Secret World's beta registration event will need to avail yourselves of a cold shower (or at least a couple of tall, cold adult beverages). Funcom has announced that its ARG-infused signup event is not quite ready for prime time, and there's no time table on the rescheduling, either. A blurb on the game's website delivers the official "we're deeply sorry for the inconvenience" yada yada and also goes on to say that the registration for The Secret War event is delayed "until further notice." We'll keep our eyes peeled, and our heads on a swivel, as it's no doubt the fault of those dastardly Illuminati. [Thanks to Paul for the tip!]
The Secret World offering players beta access via the Secret War
In spring of next year, players will get to enter The Secret World and start facing off against all of the horrors lurking just beneath the surface of modern life. But if you're intent on delving into the game as soon as possible, you probably want to be in the beta more or less yesterday. Funcom is giving players a chance to do just that after they sign up for the beta via the Secret War ARG, which will let players explore the factions and start to rise in ranks... and, of course, secure a beta spot. Following the registration process, players will be taken to a portal that offers a personality test to determine which of the three major factions fit their outlooks. (Or said players can pick outright.) From there, the game is on... but in the shadows, as always. You don't need to do anything else, but you can start taking part in your society's efforts to recruit others, and players who reach the highest rank in the chosen society will be granted automatic access to the beta when it goes live. Sounds mysterious and underhanded -- just the sort of thing you'd expect from a game about the dark days ahead.
