EA Partners to joint publish The Secret World

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's interview with him at GamesCom in Cologne last year.