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Platform Win Publisher Electronic Arts Developer Funcom Release Date 07/03/2012

Review

Review
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6.5

The Secret World review: deep ones and zeros

By Emily Gera on Jul 20, 2012 07.20.12

Funcom's deliberate departures result in the most aggressively different MMO on the market. The Secret World is an MMO-cum-puzzle game that tunes out the tired renaissance faire settings and swaps it for something a little more alternative. The experiment is somewhat awkward, though — The Secret World is torqued-up and ambitious, but its deviations from genre expectations conceal an often clumsy MMO. Despite its high-concept innovations, The Secret World frequently screws up the most basic expectations for a modern MMO. The blurring of fiction and modern life is the basis of The Secret World The Secret World departs from more typical MMO settings, unveiling a realm where myths and urban legends reveal themselves in the streets of London, New York, Seoul, Egypt, Middle...

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The Secret World adds new Lair Raid and boss battle with Issue #6 update

By Alexa Ray Corriea on Apr 15, 2013 04.15.13

A new Lair Raid instance ending in a battle against an inter-dimensional creature is now available for players to tackle in The Secret World, developer Funcom announced today. This new Lair Raid is the "culmination of The Secret World's Lair feature," according to a press statement from Funcom. Lairs are similar to standard raids in most massively multiplayer online games, where groups of players join forces to scour an area for high-quality loot, earn experience points and engage in high-level boss battles. Each major area of The Secret World's map contains one Lair area for players to explore. The Lair instance will bring players between the fabric of time and space into an extra-dimensional prison called the Island of Stillborn Stars. There they will take on a "brutal" boss named...

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The Secret World selects 11 fan-made tracks for in-game inclusion

By Alexa Ray Corriea on Mar 06, 2013 03.06.13

Eleven fan-made music tracks have been selected for inclusion in The Secret World from applicants of developer Funcom's fan arrangement contest, the company announced yesterday. According to a post on the game's forums from senior community manager Oliver "Tarib" Kunz, Funcom received more than 300 submissions from aspiring composers worldwide. Kunz noted that while the contest, announced in January, had initially promised to select five winners, the development team "could not for the life of [us]" pick less than 11: "When Scouts Go Bad" by Thumpermonkey "Deeper" by Sebastian G. "Motivation Cody" by Noise Angel "Think of Tomorrow" by Leitbur "I'll Be the Death of You" by Bright September "Save Me" by Fain "The Ice Cream Fox" by Sugar Monkey "Bad Boy" Les Moustaches "The...

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The Secret World dev explains PvP changes in Last Train to Cairo update

By Samit Sarkar on Mar 04, 2013 03.04.13

The Secret World developer Funcom is expanding the player-versus-player combat system in the game's upcoming sixth content update, "The Last Train to Cairo," the studio said in a new development blog post. Players wanted direct rewards for PvP combat and ways to show off their PvP prowess to other users, said system designer Tim Donks. So Funcom is adding a new feature called Battle Rank. PvP kills now provide experience points that are shared among group members, and the XP goes into each player's Battle Rank. Leveling up Battle Rank offers currency that can be used to purchase PvP rewards that are separate from power increases, so new players won't be at a disadvantage against experienced users — PvP combat will still be skill-based. PvP rewards include special uniforms that can...

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The Secret World designer Joel Bylos steps up as Funcom's new creative director

By Emily Gera on Feb 26, 2013 02.26.13

Veteran Funcom designer Joel Bylos will now take on the role as the Norwegian studio's new creative director on MMOs The Secret World, Age of Conan and Anarchy Online, the company announced today. This new role comes in the wake of the creation of a single, centralized live team developed following organizational restructuring throughout the company since the launch of The Secret World last year. This centralized team will be located in Funcom's North Carolina studio, working closely with quality assurance teams, as well as community, customer service and billing teams within that office location. "Having one centralized live team responsible for both the health and the future of each online game means there will always be fresh ideas, years of design know-how and invaluable skill...

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The Last Train to Cairo update will take The Secret World players to ancient Egypt in March

By Dave Tach on Feb 22, 2013 02.22.13

The Secret World's upcoming sixth episode, The Last Train to Cairo, will take players back in time to ancient Egypt armed with a new weapon in early March, according to a press release from developer Funcom. In The Last Train to Cairo's missions and side-quests, players will work with a weapons dealer named Said to uncover a plot by followers of the dark god Aten. Players will be armed with a new "Whip Auxilliary" weapon, which is useful for area damage or crowd control. "The cultists and their dark prophet Abdel Daoud are working in the shadows under the influence of their god Aten," reads a description from the game's official website. "The Atenists seek to undermine and weaken the tireless Marya who bravely stand against them. You must come to their aid and free some of their...

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Funcom holding competition to bring player-made music into The Secret World

By Alexa Ray Corriea on Jan 29, 2013 01.29.13

Funcom is holding a musical composition contest for massively multiplayer online role-playing game The Secret World, the winners of which will have their music featured in the game, the developer announced today. The "Get your music in the game" competition encourages The Secret World community members to submit tunes of their own composition that could serve as audio tracks for various in-game locations, such as shops, eating establishments and nightclubs. Participants can enter solo or as a group. The entries will be judged by Funcom audio director Simon Poole, who edited music for the title's launch trailer and is the current composer for The Secret World The contest begins today and will end on Feb. 19. The winner will be required to sign a legal contract for use of their...

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Funcom closes Beijing studio, layoffs in Montreal and Raleigh offices

By Alexa Ray Corriea on Jan 25, 2013 01.25.13

Developer Funcom will close its Beijing studio, the headquarters for art and animation for The Secret World, as part of its current restructuring plans, the company announced today. "As a natural result of the completion of the development on The Secret World, the Beijing studio, which primary responsibility was delivering art and animation to that project, will be closed down this year," reads a report from Funcom to its investors released today. All development on The Secret World will be moved to Funcom headquarters in Raleigh, N.C., which also heads development on the company's two other massively multiplayer online role-playing games, Anarchy Online and Age of Conan. "The live team in Raleigh, North Carolina, has up until today only housed our billing/tools, community, customer...

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The Secret World activity rose more than 400 percent after going buy-to-play

By Megan Farokhmanesh on Jan 12, 2013 01.12.13

Game activity in Funcom's survival-horror massively multiplayer online game, The Secret World, rocketed to more than 400 percent following the dismissal of a subscription, Funcom announced. Following the re-launch of The Secret World, Funcom said "original players have returned joined by thousands of new players." The Secret World reportedly sold more than 70,000 copies over the course of the last month, which Funcom claims is "close to [a] 30 percent increase in sales." The Secret World dropped its $14.99 subscription and went buy-to-play on Dec. 12. At the time of the pay change, game director Joel Bylos said "most players end up having a ton of fun once they delve into the myths and legends of The Secret World, and we believe the game has the potential to be even more successful...

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Funcom undergoes company restructure, will result in office closures

By Tracey Lien on Jan 10, 2013 01.10.13

The publisher behind The Secret World, Age of Conan and Anarchy Online is undergoing a company restructure that will result in cost reductions and studio closures, Funcom announced in a press release to investors today. As part of its plans to restructure, the company's Montreal studio will be affected, with Funcom telling Games Industry International that "our goal is for the studio to continue to exist although in a different form than today. As we're currently in the middle of this process we can't go into further details right now, but we will update the market once the process has been completed." In the notice to its investors, Funcom said that it will continue to focus strongly on its existing MMOs Age of Conan, Anarchy Online and The Secret World. The company also said it is...

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The Secret World’s creative director livestreaming now, post apocalypse

By Megan Farokhmanesh on Dec 21, 2012 12.21.12

The Secret World's creative director, Joel Bylos has emerged from his Doomsday shelter following the absent apocalypse and is currently hosting a special in-game livestream to celebrate. The livestream, taking place now on Twitch.TV, includes in-game play and a chance for players get their questions answered. You can view the final "End of Days" video log above, which finds Bylos tucked away in his bunker. Bylos gives viewers a look at his diggs, apocalypse partner Zoe and how he's kept himself entertained all this time. After an impatient call from Funcom's CEO, however, Bylos returns to the surface to celebrate humanity's survival. The Secret World recently dropped its subscription model to encourage players to prepare for the end of the world. "I am hoping that as the world comes...

The Secret World Releases
North America
  • Windows
    • Released 07/03/2012
    • Publisher Electronic Arts
    • Developer Funcom
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