Finally we can provide what our esteemed French and German fans what they deserve - their very own community portals. Launching earlier this month, the new portals offer news and information in the French and German native languages respectively. Our local community teams stand ready to support you guys and girls every bit of the way.

Bienvenue! Wellkommen!
(read more here!)

Right now you're reading about the best online game, at least according to the jury of the official Games Convention 2007 awards. Age of Conan not only won the official award for "Best Online Game", but also won a similar award from the German press. Thanks!

(read more here!)

Siege warfare was brought into Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures because Funcom as developers wanted to give players that epic feeling of being part of a large-scale battle. We have all watched movies like Braveheart, 300 and Kingdom of Heaven - all these epic battle movies - and we realized how amazing it would be to bring that into a massive online game. So we did, naturally. Check it out!

In southern Stygia, the great deserts finally break into patches of stinking marshland with tropical trees poking from the unfarmable earth. If one journeys further south, the marshlands turn thicker, the trees grow denser, until a traveler stands on the edge of the Black Kingdoms and the true jungles of those mysterious lands.

(read more...)

Thunder can be heard on the fields of the Border Kingdom, it is the thunderous steps of the mighty War Mammoths. These gargantuan beasts, mounted by skilled riders, strides across the blood-soaked fields as mighty battleships set to conquer some unknown harbor. A vital instrument in any siege attack, a War Mammoth may very well determine the outcome of a battle. Employing these beasts in your attack means that you can break down walls and damage buildings even without using traditional siege weapons.

(read more about the Vistrix and the Mammoth)

Darfari are cannibal warriors with sharp, filed down teeth. They are fierce, aggressive hunters and have started moving upwards through the Black Kingdoms towards the heart of Stygia. They have conquered a half-forgotten fortress in Purple Lotus Swamp and made it their own. Probably the most distinctive feature of Darfari culture is their religion, which is focused around Yog, the god of empty abodes. 

(read more...)

Funcom is proud to present the Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures comic magazine! Created by the talented people over at Dark Horse Comics, it tells a story that ties into the game perfectly. Several hundred thousands copies of the magazine have been produced, mostly bundled with various gaming magazines, and we have now put the entire 23 page PDF on our website for your downloading pleasure!

(get the complete comic book here!) (PDF - 11.6MB)

Our friends over at the German games website Buffed.de have given us this great Age of Conan comic drawn by the talented comic duo Shakes and Fidget. Enjoy!

(Check out the comic here!)

Every month website MMORPG.com will interview one of the many talented people that work on Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures here at Funcom to create a developer profile, which is then posted on their website. This month, Quest Designer Joel Bylos is featured. MMORPG.com sat down with him to pick his brain about everything from his childhood to what he does at Funcom.

(read the developer profile)

Every month we try to bring you some selected press coverage from
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. If you find something you would like to tell us about, please drop us an email. This is some of the coverage over the last couple of weeks. The last few months have been riddled with gaming conventions, so by following these links you are sure to find some really juicy stuff - screens, articles and videos!

25.09.07 — Interview with Erling Ellingsen (French)
24.09.07 — Interview with Jørgen Tharaldsen
24.09.07 — Interview with Jørgen Tharaldsen
17.09.07 — Interview with Jason Stone
10.09.07 — GC preview on DemoNews (German)
06.09.07 — GC preview on Onlinewelten (German)
06.09.07 — GC preview on ComputerBild (German)
06.09.07 — GC preview on MMORPG Planet (German)
03.08.07 — GC preview on EuroGamer
30.08.07 — GC preview on JeuxOnline (French)
27.08.07 — GC Preview on Mondespersistants (French)
27.08.07 — GC preview on TenTonHammer
27.08.07 — GC video interview with Erling and Jørgen
25.08.07 — GC preview on MMORPG
25.08.07 — GC preview on Allvatar
25.08.07 — GC preview on 4Gamers.net (Japanese)
25.08.07 — GC preview on PCGames (German)
25.08.07 — GC preview on GameStar (German)
24.08.07 — GC preview on Meristation (Spanish)
24.08.07 — GC preview on Vadejocs (Spanish)
24.08.07 — GC preview on InGame (German)
24.08.07 — GC video interview with Erling Ellingsen
24.08.07 — GC preview on Krawall (German)
24.08.07 — GC preview on YouGamers
24.08.07 — GC preview on Curse Gaming
24.08.07 — GC preview on IGN
23.08.07 — GC preview on Gameswelt (Swiss)
22.08.07 — GC preview on Buffed (German)
22.08.07 — GC preview on Exp (German)
20.08.07 — GC preview on Vandal (Spanish)
18.08.07 — E3 preview on GameVortex
18.07.07 — E3 preview on Grrlgamer
18.07.07 — E3 preview on 1UP
18.07.07 — E3 preview on GameTactics
18.07.07 — E3 preview on Joystiq
18.07.07 — E3 preview on GamersInfo
18.07.07 — E3 preview on WarCry
18.07.07 — E3 preview on MPOGD
18.07.07 — E3 preview on Team Xbox
18.07.07 — E3 preview on WorthPlaying
18.07.07 — E3 preview on GameZone
18.07.07 — E3 preview on Voodoo Extreme
18.07.07 — E3 preview on TenTonHammer
18.07.07 — E3 preview on MMORPG.com
17.07.07 — YouGamers reporting from EDF
17.07.07 — TVG hands-on preview
16.07.07 — Interview with Erling Ellingsen
16.07.07 — E3 preview on Gaming Today
16.07.07 — GamesRadar hands-on preview
15.07.07 — Interview with Erling Ellingsen
13.07.07 — E3 preview on RPGFan
13.07.07 — E3 preview on Destructoid
13.07.07 — E3 preview on Gamespot
13.07.07 — E3 preview on Kotaku
13.07.07 — E3 preview on The Escapist
13.07.07 — E3 preview on RPGamer
10.07.07 — EuroGamer hands-on preview

More news on the Community Site!

Every week we give you an update on Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures by posting our special Friday Update on the community website. Here are some of the Friday updates we've published recently:

21.09.07 — Community Q&A #2
14.09.07 — The drinking cape
07.09.07 — Tales from DragonCon
31.08.07 — Community Q&A #1
21.08.07 — Live from Leipzig

More news on the Community Site!

Take a look at this month's exclusive screenshots! We've added four screenshots from a simulated player-versus-player siege set in the Purple Lotus Swamp. Note that sieges will not be available in this area on the live servers, only the Border Kingdom, but we chose this area to show off how sieging works as we're holding off on revealing the Border Kingdom itself. Plus, it nicely coincides with the fact that it's this month's location!

(check out the new screens)

This month we're featuring an in-game video showing off the simulated siege in the Purple Lotus Swamp. Watch how the trebuchets roar as they fire upon the heavily fortified battlekeep, and see how the attackers and the defenders heave at each other in a desperate attempt to become the victors of this blood, brutal and savage battle!

(The video will be available exclusively at Gamespy, JeuxVideoPC, Buffed.de, InsideGamer, Goha, Multiplayer and Juegaenred until next week when it will be posted on the community site)

Real-life player-versus-player combat
If you took Age of Conan's player-versus-player combat, mixed it with a lot of the drunken brawling bit, and set it in real life, this is most likely how it would look. We hope that this represents Age of Conan fans' ability to use their creativity and not the general state of their mental health. For the sake of your mental health, viewer discretion should probably be advised.

This month we bring you an exclusive wallpaper themed according to this newsletters' primary focus: the Purple Lotus Swamp. The wallpaper comes in four different sizes.

(check out the new wallpaper)

Just because we are such incredibly kind people here at Funcom, we have decided to give away free loot every month. All you need to do is send us an email and hope for the best. Every month we pick out three people who will be sent a bunch of exclusive loot such as inflatable Conan swords, the Age of Conan comic, games and even hardware.

These three people will also receive a guaranteed place in the
Age of Conan beta test!

If you want to be one of the lucky three who gets Funcom loot delivered in the mail, you will need to send us an email and include your full name, your home address, and your telephone number in order to be eligible. You must also keep the subject of the email "Age of Conan September Newsletter Sweepstakes". Those who enter and get picked out will have the opportunity to receive one or more exclusive prizes such as:

•  Concept Art print signed by the artist
•  Dreamfall: The Longest Journey PC game
•  Full-colored Age of Conan comic book

Send us an email by October 27th and you might get lucky!

No purchase necessary. Prizes are three (3) inflatable swords, three (3) comic books, three (3) copies of the Dreamfall PC game and one (1) Concept Art print signed by the artist. Odds of winning dependant on number of entries. Competition open to residents of the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, U.K., and U.S. (except Rhode Island and Puerto Rico). Drawing will be made by random draw in Oslo Norway one day after the entry deadline. Any applicable taxes or customs fees are responsibility of winner.
Entry to this competition is void where prohibited by local laws.

This month we want to put the spotlight on the Hyborian Codex, a French fan site dedicated to bringing you everything Age of Conan. Besides doing a very good job at bringing you the latest news, they are also putting together a growing section dedicated to bring you encyclopedic knowledge of the world of Conan. Recently they also went to the Festival du Jeu Vidéo in Paris, and did a great job covering Age of Conan there.

http://www.hyboriancodex.com/

Have a suggestion for Community site of the Month? Email us now!