7 years of Secret World content planned

MMO The Secret World doesn't even have a release date, yet Funcom already plans for "seven years" of post-launch content.

"We have actually begun not only design work but art work on content that's due after launch that has been planned from the get-go," writer/director Ragnar Tornquist told Eurogamer.

"The second you start playing The Secret World you'll actually see hints at where the content is going and what it's going to be. And we really wanted to get a head start of that. We have content, a significant amount we're planning to release after launch. How long that's going to take is really hard to say - it really depends on what players want. But yeah, it's ready to go!

"We have plans for seven years after launch for both the content and the story and of course cool new features as well," he added. "The game is just starting when we launch."

One feature that may be added after launch is mounts, although what these will be within the game's contemporary setting is a question posing Tornquist and his design teams some problems.

"Whether or not we're going to do [mounts] at launch - we haven't really announced anything yet," said Tornquist. "The function of mounts is as an aid to travel, and that's something we cover in the game."

"We have a challenge with a game set in a contemporary setting," he added. "Riding a dragon is really cool, and in our game there is definitely potential for dragons - but do we want players to ride dragons through London? That would be a little harder to explain!

"So we have a challenge in terms of believability. We really want to be believable; we want people to buy into our setting."

Ragnar Tornquist teased more examples of how The Secret World will evolve after launch during an exclusive interview with Eurogamer published this afternoon. At launch, he explained, you won't be able to progress to the top of the The Secret World's three secret societies. You'll also only see a "10th of the entire picture": the game's secrets, world and lore.

"Launch is only the beginning of this story," he said.