Age of Conan subs gets Secret World beta slot

Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures and Mythic Entertainment's Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning represented the two largest massively multiplayer online role-playing game launches last year. However, neither game managed to dent the undeniable popularity of Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft, which added on the critically acclaimed and best-selling Wrath of the Lich King expansion in 2008.

Still, Funcom and Mythic continue to quest for new subscribers. With Mythic announcing Warhammer Online's Endless Trial offer last week, Funcom today outlined its own effort to lure subscribers, one that involves free gameplay, as well as a bevy of bonuses for current and returning subscribers. Namely, gamers who at one point subscribed to Funcom's dark-fantasy MMORPG can now return to the game for two weeks free, during which they will gain a double experience bonus.

Funcom also announced a tiered incentive program for those who decide to re-up their subscriptions. Those who sign on for one month will gain seven bonus days added to their subscriptions. A three-month commitment secures a slot in the open beta test for Funcom's forthcoming MMOG, The Secret World. Six-month subscribers will additionally be awarded an in-game helmet. The 12-month option earns subscribers a free copy of AOC's as-yet-undated Rise of the Godslayer expansion.

Announced for the Xbox 360 and PC in 2007, The Secret World posits an alternate universe in which a modern-day world has been torn asunder by the reemergence of magic and other occult activity. Funcom has yet to attach a release date to the game, though the developer said in September that it would be delaying the game's launch "some months," after moving a significant portion of its workforce from its Norwegian headquarters to a new Montreal location.