5 Year Anniversary of Conan Exiles
This day marks the 5-year anniversary of when Conan Exiles launched into Early Access, and what a ride it has been! Having had the pleasure to play this game since it launched on the 31st of January 2017, I’ve been able to witness the evolution of this great game as a player, but also as a modder. Getting to experience a sandbox game that had this much personality was a surprise. Having played Age of Conan back in the day, I was no stranger to the world of Conan, but when I returned to this world in Conan Exiles, it was a lot more than I could have imagined. The developers over at Funcom had brought this world to life in a new and exciting way. With a tagline reading as follows. Survive. Build. Dominate. The game was set up to challenge the player to survive the Exiled Lands. Conan Exiles would be a game to include PvE, RP, and PvP elements. Now for anyone familiar with game development in general, blending multiple gameplay modes can be a very challenging task. You will constantly be met with questions such as “if we add this feature to PvE, how will this affect PvP?” etc. This can be a massive undertaking that will take a lot of time to balance correctly. It takes a lot of dedication to create such a flexible game and get it right. To that, I say the talented developers at Funcom went above and beyond. I can only imagine the time and effort put into fine-tuning every detail of the game, which is a constant battle. The features and systems of the game range far and wide, allowing for so many options in terms of gameplay. The artwork, landscape design, 3D modeling, even down to the sound design is a marvelous achievement. All of this blends together to create an amazing atmosphere and immerse the player into this world.
Game development rarely ever pans out the way you plan, but the key is to push on and make the best out of it. It’s a constant learning curve as technology keeps evolving. To all the developers over at Funcom, you’ve done an incredible job with the titles you’ve brought to life! Thank you all for your hard work!
When it comes to a game’s success, it falls to the community of players to keep it alive. For a live service game especially, having a community team that is actively engaging with the players is paramount. Taking feedback, helping out with questions, doing announcements, videos, etc. The list goes on and on. To put it bluntly, the job of the community team is a tough one. And I have to say, I have never seen any other gaming company as grounded as Funcom. The amazing community team truly goes above and beyond. The kindness shown even in the toughest of situations speaks volumes to everyone there. Know that all your hard work is greatly appreciated!
I started modding for Conan Exiles around the launch of Early Access as a way to improve upon my own game development skills. Looking back, I had truly no idea what I was getting myself into. Having had the pleasure to talk to quite a few people working at Funcom over the years, I can say that I’m beyond grateful to each and every one of you. You’ve gone so far to support the work I’ve done on The Age of Calamitous mod over the course of these 5 years. Helping, teaching, and supporting, not only me but a fantastic community of talented modders! I am so grateful for this fantastic experience you’ve all given us. It’s been an honor to be a part of this journey with you all!
And so, with the best of wishes from the AoC team and myself, we wish you all the very best, and here’s to many more years! We cannot wait to see what else you guys have in store for this game, upcoming titles, and the future of the company!
A huge thanks to you all, Happy Anniversary!
Best regards,
-Espen G. Johansen & AoC team
