Open Beta exclusively available through FilePlanet.com and partner IGN sites.

50.000 aspiring barbarians may enter Hyboria on May 1st 2008.

Funcom, Eidos and IGN are proud to announce that Open Beta for Age of Conan will start on May 1. The Open Beta will be hosted exclusively by IGN’s popular game download site, FilePlanet.com, as well as being offered through partner IGN sites such as Gamespy.com, Tentonhammer.com and Warcry.com. The application pages at FilePlanet.com are now open for registrations, and gamers from across the world can sign up. As 50.000 gamers prepare their Hyborian assault, rivers of blood are about to flow, and it’s exclusively available through FilePlanet and IGN partner sites.

As some of you may have picked up during our development, we have chosen a somewhat updated view on women compared to the works of Robert E. Howard. The world circa-2007 is very different, in most places, than the 1930’s in which the original Conan stories came around. Early on in our development, we therefore made a very clear and conscious choice: Namely that any female player in Hyboria should be just as strong and able as any man! The strong, fierce and independent female is perfectly in line with the lore of Howard, however, we have expanded it to include ALL the female players. And seriously guys, you wouldn’t want anything else, now would you?

First of all, when it comes to our main server centers for launch we are splitting them into two primary territories; North America and Europe. This is the core divider. This means that your primary server destination will be decided according to where you buy your retail box. So, North American gamers will only get the choice of North American servers, and vice versa. It is important for us to mention that this is done in order to ensure a best possible experience for US and European players respectively. We are aware of the fact that many would like to play with their friends across the ocean, but we have decided on this approach for the overall performance for the largest amount of players.

We found some screenshots and videos we used for press kits and added them to the media section.

Conan is a low-magic setting, but magic is still a fundamental part of the Conan mythos. The world itself is founded on ancient magical empires from Atlantis to Acheron; Hyboria is steeped in sorcery and fabulous lost cities of the supernatural litter the world.

Sorcerers corrupted by magical power, priests of strange gods, white druids and benign wizards all inhabit the Conan universe. Masses of spell wielding players may seem out of place, unless there is some explanation; a sinister mystery to uncover. And what might be the consequences of such a massive influx of magic? Could Hyboria itself be in peril?

The big thing here at Funcom is access. If there's a problem with Anarchy, it's a short ride in the elevator to bug the guy in charge of it. If there's a problem with Conan, it's a short walk to bug the guy in charge of it. I go to the meetings and talk to them daily, and everyone is usually aware of what the community wants. I serve almost as the empowered player type, synthesizing the feedback of thousands of people into "This is what they want." Now, sometimes, there's a very good reason (technical or otherwise) why they can't have it, but finding that out is part of the "player advocate" side of being a community manager. I also have to balance my knowledge of what the players want with what the company is able and capable of providing, as well as the needs of the business side of things as well, which, again, is all about balance.

In southernmost Stygia, the great deserts break into patches of stinking marshland. Tropical trees there poke from the unfarmable earth. If one journeys further south, the marshlands turn thicker and the trees grow denser, until a traveler stands on the edge of the impenetrable jungles of the Black Kingdoms. There the Purple Lotus Swamp spreads like a bruise across the realm. Large marsh snakes glide underneath the silt-darkened water, ready to drag wanderers down into a drowning doom. Deep tar pits dot the landscape, filled with the bones of the unwary. For all that, though, the swamp is a well-traveled place. The attraction is the beautiful, valuable flower that grows here and nowhere else in Hyboria.