Secret World delayed by Funcom lay-offs

By Oli Welsh Published 29 September, 2009

20 per cent of workforce cut.

Age of Conan developer Funcom announced that it's laying off 20 per cent of its workforce today, with the result of a delay of "several months" in the development of its next MMO, The Secret World.

That's according to Norwegian business site E24, as spotted by GI and translated by Google.

The Secret World had no release date, although we expected to see it next year. A 2011 launch now looks more likely for the contemporary, occult, conspiracy-themed MMO by Dreamfall creator Ragnar Tornquist.

It's not clear what impact the job cuts will have on the release of the first Age of Conan expansion, Rise of the Godslayer - although this too had no firm date.

Funcom's Oslo HQ is hardest hit by the redundancies as the company transfers its development focus to Montreal, where it recently set up a new studio to take advantage of the tax breaks and lower wages on offer in Canada.

If you want to learn more, we recently previewed The Secret World, spoke to Tornquist and previewed Rise of the Godslayer.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (15) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • tossetaz #1 2 years ago

    No more oil-money you fuckers?? mwuhahahahhaaaa (i'm a dane)

  • actionfitz #2 2 years ago

    Ouch.
    That'll learn em to release half finished games.

    ---
    lol -1?
    got some AoC fanboys about here then?
    Edited by 1 at 29/09/09 @ 15:15

  • Slipstream #3 2 years ago

    It's sad that it had to come to this. But I guess there was no avoiding the damage caused by Conan's poor initial release. Sounds like it has improved since, but first impressions etc.
    Further more they are in an unrelenting sector of the industry where, unless your product garners consistant attention, and you're unable to handle feedback from the masses, you'll be on that slippery slope for a while.

    Also slagging off the lead rival does nothing for your credibility either...

    Still, I hope they can pull through, secret world does look very nice indeed. I like the atmosphere it eminates.

  • Evolution #4 2 years ago

    "Dreamfall: Chapters delayed by Funcom lay-offs" :(

  • hula hoops #5 2 years ago

    AoC-WoW comparison

    Yep, Funcom's Age of Conan is like uncooked and blodied raw steak compared to Blizzard's WoW chargrilled, properly seasoned MacDonald hamburgers.

  • jonfon #6 2 years ago

    "Yep, Funcom's Age of Conan is like uncooked and blodied raw steak compared to Blizzard's WoW chargrilled, properly seasoned MacDonald hamburgers."

    Mmmm. Bloody steak. *drools*. So long as it doesn't still have a heartbeat that's the way I like it.

    (nothing to do with AoC or WoW. I just likes my steak basically hacked off the cow, waved over a frying pan and served to me. I wouldn't touch McDonalds with a bargepole, regardless of how "seasoned" it was)
    Edited by 1 at 29/09/09 @ 13:40

  • Spekingur #7 2 years ago

    McDonalds seasoned? Dude, cooking Mcdonalds is like creating a them 2 minute noodle soups - it's not proper food. I haven't eaten McD for 5+ years, eating their burgers always made me more hungry - which is silly, food shouldn't make you more hungry. Also, they have spray-on grill taste. Seriously, if you need that then you are doing it wrong.

    Heck, I'd rather take a raw bloody steak over a McD's any time.

  • iokthemonkey #8 2 years ago

    Except in the case of AoC, the 'steak' is in reality a bull's cock stuffed with smegma and served on a bed of maggoty jism.

    I feel sorry for the staff who've been laid-off due to bad top-end decisions, but the only thing I find surprising about this is that it's taken this long, to be honest.

  • FirewalkR #9 2 years ago

    Remember kids, all that matters is that Dreamfall Chapters is not affected.
    Edited by 1 at 29/09/09 @ 14:06

  • Vinicity #10 2 years ago

    If this means no Dreamfall sequel, I am going to cry a little.

  • sneetch #11 2 years ago

    @iokthemonkey

    Dammit, I was eating a sandwich!

  • penhalion #12 2 years ago

    So they lay off 20%, delay their game and therefore put the entire company in jeapordy....anyone else see the flaw in their plan?

  • iokthemonkey #13 2 years ago

    So they lay off 20%, delay their game and therefore put the entire company in jeapordy....anyone else see the flaw in their plan?

    ----

    It's a standard business practice - usually encouraged by banks/financiers.

    Put simply, if you have X people and Y cash to pay their salaries, having X/2 means your Y cash keeps you going for twice as long. At least, that's how the backers see it, missing the point that a company needs those staff.

  • Gurgeh #14 2 years ago

    Put simply, if you have X people and Y cash to pay their salaries, having X/2 means your Y cash keeps you going for twice as long. At least, that's how the backers see it, missing the point that a company needs those staff.

    ----------------

    The backers know how many staff are needed, but they want to get their money back. If they trusted Funcom to deliver in the long run then they wouldn't push for job cuts now. If they have forced the issue it means their backers have lost faith in Funcom's business strategy and are cutting their losses.

  • iokthemonkey #15 2 years ago

    The backers know how many staff are needed, but they want to get their money back. If they trusted Funcom to deliver in the long run then they wouldn't push for job cuts now. If they have forced the issue it means their backers have lost faith in Funcom's business strategy and are cutting their losses.

    -----

    The problem is, all backers/financiers/bankers don't get that the company is the staff and when it comes to cutting costs, they don't think of them as assets but as liabilities and so look to shed them. But trust me, I don't have much faith in Funcom's abilities either...