Hundreds of unique quests for combat and crafting with extensive NPC interaction and voice acting, immersing you in the living world of King Conan. As a part of the process of adding lots of exciting new content we have also learned some important lessons when it comes to communicating dates, and we will be even more vigilant to keep to the timelines we communicate. While this is a constant nightmare when it comes to games as complex as MMO’s (as things often takes longer than anticipated to get right), it is a tradeoff in many ways. You always want to know what we are making, we want to tell it to you, but this also means that things won’t always end up on live as soon as we want it, because quality must win. As a part of this we have also worked hard on our routines for creating better update notes, so you get to learn about all the changes we implement from Funcom.

A detailed and engrossing crafting system, allowing you to make everything from armor and weapons to an entire city! I know many of you have also asked about your buddy keys, and we have now come to a level where we are able to activate them. During the next week you will therefore be able to use your buddy keys, inviting friends to the game with you. You should also check out the massive new update we are putting to live, and not the least drop by our test live server to test the new PvP features. That’s it for this time! I hope you all get a healthy dose of vacation this summer, and that you are enjoying Age of Conan. Summer greetings!

We have now opened the first part of the Buddy key program for Age of Conan! Everybody who has purchased a Collector’s Edition can now invite up to five friends, who can try the game for seven days without purchasing a retail box. The invitation process is easy. You need to log-in to your account pages, and choose “Buddy program”. Follow the on-screen instructions, and then write a personal message to your friends if you so desire. We recommend that you lend your install DVDs to your buddy to get him or her ready to play as fast as possible. Alternatively your buddy will be offered a $2, 99/€2, 99 clients download with 3 additional days of playtime to cover the download time. While this offer is only for Collector’s Edition accounts for now, we will soon open up for the Buddy key found in the standard retail box as well.

MMORPG Carolyn koh was at E3. While there, Carolyn caught up with Erling Ellingson of Funcom and Rick Reyonlds of Eidos to talk about the future of the game. “We've got our roadmap of patches already out,” said Erling. “And we are working on a holiday version of the game box,” added Rick. The holiday version is just a box which will be fun to give as a gift. We looked at the various versions of Age of Conan boxes that was being shown behind glass as we walked into the Eidos meeting room. Nothing has been decided as to what the holiday premium will be, if it will be a fun piece of equipment or bling, but “If you have any ideas,” said Rick, “I'd love to hear them!”

Check out the special preview of Dark Horse Comics’ monthly Conan the Cimmerian comic book: an excerpt from Conan the Cimmerian #2 and a few of Frank Cho’s covers for the series. You’ll find the first issue on stands NOW, and Dark Horse will launch two additional titles in its Robert E. Howard line of adventure comics later this year when the Solomon Kane and Kull mini-series are released.

Starting with issue #0, Conan the Cimmerian marks a transitional period in young Conan's life, as he spurns the magicians, turncoats, and legal trappings of the cities he's seen in order to return to the beloved northern frontiers of Cimmeria, where he was born and raised. It ALSO marks a turning point in the artistic muscle that will fuel Conan's adventures throughout 2008 and beyond. Writer Timothy Truman and Argentine artist Tomás Giorello are joined by legendary artist Richard Corben, renowned colorist José Villarrubia, and cover artist Frank Cho, as we surge into another exciting era in Dark Horse Comics' modern revitalization of Robert E. Howard's most beloved character.

Upon Conan's return to his homeland at the start of our new series, he quickly runs afoul of Vanir raiders on the Cimmerian borderlands—thinning their ranks with sword and spear before being aided by a peculiar stranger. With Conan recovering from his battle wounds, the kind stranger offers shelter . . . and a story about Conan's grandfather, Connacht. As an older Cimmerian, Connacht inspired young Conan with tales of dazzling lands and beautiful women, but the story the snowbound stranger relates is one of a brush with death and supernatural beasts—brought on after an act of selfless kindness. Is it true that "no good deed goes unpunished" . . . ?

Now’s the perfect time for new readers to jump on, so make sure to add Dark Horse’s upcoming Robert E. Howard offerings to your local comic book store’s pull box list! (And visit your local comic book retailer if you haven’t lately!) September’s Solomon Kane series will sound the first salvo in Solomon Kane’s horrific adventures, written by Scott Allie (Star Wars: Empire) and illustrated by the dazzling team of newcomer Mario Guevara and Eisner Award-winning colorist Dave Stewart (Conan, Umbrella Academy). The indomitable king Kull faces the supposedly impenetrable Iron Fortress and an ancient demon this November when Kull begins, written by Arvid Nelson (Rex Mundi, Joker), drawn by Serenity’s Will Conrad, and colored by fan-favorite José Villarrubia.

While not strictly related to Age of Conan, we would regardless like to point out that Funcom's other MMO, Anarchy Online is now celebrating seven years in operation. As a part of the celebration Funcom has put together a video where former luminaries like Gaute Godager, Ragnar Tørnquist and Morten Byom speak about their time with Anarchy Online, while current Lead Designer Colin Cragg and Game Director Craig Morrison join in to speak about the current state of the game. It’s a great trip down memory lane for everyone who has enjoyed Anarchy Online, while showing some of the tremendous evolutions the game has gone through since its inception.

Funcom is proud to announce that Age of Conan continues to dominate the PC sales charts in all markets where the game is available. Over the last few weeks it has remained the overall #1 PC game in most European markets, while also performing tremendously well on several all-format charts. In the US, Age of Conan impressively conquered the #1 PC spot for the first two weeks of available NPD data. Due to the amazing interest surrounding the game, more than 700.000 gamers have now signed up for an Age of Conan account. In the second month after release it is also clear that Age of Conan has taken the position as the undisputed #2 subscription MMO in the western world.