This week Funcom and a worldwide community of gamers celebrate the one year anniversary of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game 'Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures'. One year after the mighty barbarian burst onto the online gaming market, shipping over 1.2 million copies around the world, Funcom is seeing a significant increase in players and new customers per month. Activity levels have risen significantly, and the communities are thriving with more and more players finding their way into the game.

"We are very pleased to see that more players are experiencing 'Age of Conan'," says Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Funcom, Morten Larssen. "The team has been working diligently on improving the game since launch, with several major updates that in addition to improving technology and client stability, also have added hours of more content, new gameplay features, and more. The fact that we are now also seeing longer average subscription periods is a testament to the fact that 'Age of Conan' is just getting better and better, and with the launch of the recent trial campaign there has never been a better time to check out the game than now!"

Since launching in May 2008, several major updates have been released for 'Age of Conan'. These updates have added hours upon hours of additional content such as new lands to explore, new quests to undertake, new equipment for characters, and several new gameplay features. The technology behind the game has also advanced significantly, with improved framerate, smoother gameplay and the inclusion of DirectX 10. There are currently 120 people working on 'Age of Conan' divided into the live team and the expansion team, with several exciting updates planned for the time ahead. The team is currently doing the finishing touches on Update 5, an update that will introduce a whole new itemization system, new game areas and more.

"It has been an interesting and challenging year, and I am very proud of the hard work that the team has put into improving the game," says Game Director on 'Age of Conan' Craig Morrison. "We have focused on adding content, improving existing content, and adding new gameplay features. Player feedback has been very important throughout the whole process, and will continue to be so as we continue improving the game."

In celebration of the one year anniversary, all characters in 'Age of Conan' will be treated to free fireworks this week, and a contest has been set up where players are urged to head out into the streets of Hyboria to color the sky and capture the festivities in a screenshot for a chance to win some exciting prizes! Soon players will be able to purchase additional character slots, and as an anniversary gift, Funcom is awarding all veteran players that have six months or more accumulated subscription time with a free character slot. For more information on the anniversary celebrations and the anniversary gifts, please visit the 'Age of Conan' community website.

Launching in May last year 'Age of Conan' quickly became a smash hit in retail, shipping over 1.2 million copies around the world. In North America, the most prominent online gaming market in the west, 'Age of Conan' became the third best-selling PC title of the year only beaten by 'Spore' and 'World of Warcraft'. In the weeks after launch 'Age of Conan' simultaneously topped the charts in 17 countries, and the game received critical acclaim from gaming press across the globe. 'Age of Conan' is now available in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian and Polish, and is being prepared for launch in Korea as well.

'Age of Conan' is currently available as a free trial. Download yours today at www.ageofconan.com/trial.