EA Partners to joint publish The Secret World

Mon 10 Jan 2011 9:03am GMT / 4:03am EST / 1:03am PST
Publishing

Funcom's Illuminati MMO comes under DeMartini's umbrella

Funcom and EA Partners have announced that they will be joint publishing forthcoming MMO The Secret World, a game based on secret societies where players will grow without character class restrictions.

The move means that Funcom becomes stablemates with EA Partners' impressive roster of developers, including Valve, Insomniac and Respawn entertainment - the studio formed by ex-Infinity Ward bosses Vince Zampella and Jason West.

"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Funcom, one of the world-leaders in the development of massively multiplayer online games," said EA Partners general manager and senior VP David DeMartini. "We are very excited to be able to take part in the growing online gaming category with such a highly anticipated title as The Secret World."

"We are tremendously excited to be working with what is undoubtedly the world-leading games publisher for the past decade, and it is also a great testament to the fantastic work of our development team," said Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas. "The experience and the knowledge that Electronic Arts brings to the table will be instrumental in allowing us to realize the full potential of 'The Secret World'."

For more insight into DeMartini's ethos and plans for EA Partners' future, read GamesIndustry.biz'sinterview with him at GamesCom in Cologne last year.

4 Comments

The Conan launch was shambolic. In parts the game was still in Alpha and everywhere else it was mid Beta. Shame because underneath was a really good MMO but they had to release something before they ran out of money (sound familiar?). Presumably with EA on board they have the resources now to release a better end product - as long as they are not set unrealistic deadlines again.

Posted:2 years ago

#1

The challenge with MMOs is the endless production of asset after asset, whereas with a console product, there is the option to eliminate elements of a level if a tighter "cut" is required to meet deadline obligations

Posted:2 years ago

#2

Graham, you are badly informed. The early Conan launch was not due to a shortage of funds, Funcom having more than USD 25 mill in cash at the time. The problem was unwillingness to launch 1 or 2 quarters later and clash with other major releases, and the failure to realize how bugged their product was.

Posted:2 years ago

#3

Actually, as a Beta [player, I don't think it was *that* buggy.

But their customer/community support was terrible throughout the life of the product, which is what finally led me to quit in disgust when my character was in mid 30s.

Posted:2 years ago

#4

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