Funcom revenues grow to $7 million in Q1

Age of Conan developer Funcom has posted revenues of USD 7.7 million for the first quarter of 2009, up from the USD 963,000 for the same period last year. Profit for the period was USD 1.4 million, up from USD 919,000 in 2008.

The financial success is due to subscriptions to the Age of Conan game, sales of boxed product and royalties from Korean partner Neowiz.

"The positive indications on subscriber retention from January 2009 has been reinforced and strengthened in the following months for the Age of Conan game," added CEO Trond Arne Aas.

Funcom has close to USD 40 million in cash for future growth, with the developer stating that "the Company has a defined investment program and considers the financial resources to be sufficient to complete and launch the MMOs in development."

"The strong potential for The Secret World, Funcom's upcoming MMO was confirmed by the broad and positive positive coverage and feedback from both world gaming press and gamer communities after the game reveal on April 7," added the company.

Although the company laid off a number of employees last year, it still retains 120 staff full-time on Age of Conan, and 100 team members are dedicated to its next MMO, The Secret World.

The company also revealed that it will be beta-releasing its two free-to-play MMOs later this year in Q4. "The games will be progressively opened to more players over time," said Funcom. "The timing for this will depend on feedback during the beta-phase."