The first steps by Conan franchise owner and developer Funcom have been relatively tame. 2022 has seen the release of Conan Chop Chop, which Rock Paper Shotgun heralds as a fun rogue-lite adventure best experienced on the Nintendo Switch. With the game now available on PC and other consoles, it’s the first opportunity the gaming scene has really had to experience a Conan game since 2017 – and the first in which Funcom has had total creative control. The title has been well received, although being a significant departure from previous games, and has led to discussion over what the next Conan edition will look like.
Looking to Exiles
Of course, there hasn’t been a total lack of Conan content in recent years. Conan Exiles remains a cult hit, with up to 15,000 players logging in via Steam daily, and a huge expansion – Isle of Siptah – was released last year to fanfare. According to Gamespot, the expansion taps into the deep sense of magic and lore that has been built into the Exiled Lands, something which has been consistently promoted by the Obelisks among other gameplay features. Exiles latest development shows the direction that the developer is heading in, and it bodes well for a potential new title – which may just be in the works.
Combining the heroes
In a profile of Funcom’s new plans now that they own the entire Conan franchise, IGN has highlighted one plan of particular interest. Funcom has stated that they want to create a new world in which all of the best characters from the Conan legacy are brought together in one place, within which player-created characters will presumably be able to interact. This signals a promising new era for the game series. Blending together the rich world of Conan with player-led adventures is almost certainly going to be a winner – players love to take the stage in existing worlds and be made to feel like they are a hero on a par with the most legendary – including Conan himself.
When’s it coming?
The release of Chop Chop has done a lot to obfuscate the inner workings of Funcom, and they’ll be glad for that release of pressure. The mobile-oriented game will continue to rack up new revenue for development, and give them areas to focus on. Indeed, the continued support required for Exiles and its active modding community means that Funcom will have plenty to think about before its next release. Hopefully, this will mean that what comes next receives plenty of development hours, a lot of polish, and a lot of thinking about what it takes to make a modern Conan game successful.
As a franchise, Conan has such a huge cultural impact and long-running history that it deserves proper development when it comes to new games. This is something that fans of the series can not only demand but, perhaps, expect. Over to Funcom.
