Norwegian developer Funcom is for sale

The Norwegian Funcom ‘examines strategic options’. The studio, known for mmog’s Secret World, Age of Conan and Anarchy Online, is open to an investment, acquisition or merger. Funcom ran into problems after the release of Lego Minifigures Online.

The Norwegian Funcom is ‘actively looking’ for parties interested in a takeover, a merger or an investment in the company. The studio is forced to take the step after disappointing revenues from their latest game, mmog Lego Minifigures Online. LMO was released in 2014 as a free-to-play PC game. However, the proceeds were disappointing and Funcom changed course. In June of this year, a new version was released as a pay-to-play multiplatform game, with clients for iOS and Android. However, the revenues are also disappointing. Just a few weeks after the release of the new version of the game, Funcom had to announce that ‘the game does not currently meet internal sales expectations’. The company has to conclude that, based on the current income, there is too little coming in to pay for the ongoing costs and outstanding debts.

Funcom is the only major Norwegian game developer. The company has been around since 1993, but only made a name for itself when it started focusing on mmogs. It released Anarchy Online in 2001, followed by Age of Conan: Unchained in 2008 and The Secret World in 2012. The studio also made offline games, such as the 1999 The Longest Journey.