Conan Chop Chop

It is best known for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game titles Age of Conan, Anarchy Online, and The Secret World – and The Longest Journey series of adventure games. Craig Morrison took over the direction of Age of Conan. On February 23, 2009, Funcom reported financial losses of approximately $23 million in the fourth quarter of 2008. The unsuccessful launch of Age of Conan was cited as the reason for such a steep decline. The chief analyst of DnB NOR, Fredrik Thoresen, estimated that 100,000 subscribers played the game at the time of the report, far below the publisher's expectations, though these numbers were not confirmed by Funcom itself. On September 1, 2009, Funcom announced the establishment of a new development studio in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. As the result of the new strategy, the operating results came close to a positive value — in 2010 it reached — US$593 thousand compared to — US$10 798 thousand in 2009. On July 2, 2012, Funcom announced Ole Schreiner as the new CEO of Funcom and as a new member of the management board of Funcom. Ole Schreiner is one of Funcom's longest-serving employees and he has been working directly with titles such as Anarchy Online, Age of Conan and The Secret World in several capacities. Trond Arne Aas, long-term CEO of Funcom, took on a new role as Strategic Advisor to the Board and Chief Strategy Officer, On August 22, 2012, Funcom announced that it laid off half of the company as a cost-adjustment initiative due to the poor performance of their MMORPG The Secret World. Thus, Funcom hoped to create a stronger and more effective organization. The company announced on January 17, 2013, that it would lay off some of its staff of their Montreal branch as a part of the restructuring process. On January 29, 2014, Norwegian economic crime unit Økokrim launched an investigation into suspected infringement of the provisions of the Securities Trading Act connected to the 2012 launch of The Secret World. The additional cash boost helped the company to fully prepare for the launch of the LEGO Minifigures MMO in summer 2014. In October 2015, the company launched The Park, a single-player horror experience based on The Secret World intellectual property. In December 2015, the company announced that it had entered into a partnership agreement with Conan Properties International LLC, making it the preferred partner for PC and console games based on the Conan the Barbarian brand. In January 2016, the company announced it was working on Conan Exiles, an open-world survival game based on the Conan the Barbarian brand. There have been no substantial updates to the game since October 2018. In August 2017, the company revealed a new logo and branding alongside a positioning that openly acknowledges low points in the company's history. On 8 January 2019, it was announced that Funcom had acquired 50.1% of the Lisbon, Portugal-based company Zona Paradoxal, Lda with whom it has had a working relationship since 2017. On 26 February 2019, Funcom announced that it was entering into an exclusive partnership with Legendary Entertainment to develop games related to the upcoming Dune films. Tencent Holdings acquired a 29% minority stake in Funcom in September 2019, making it the largest shareholder in the company.