Get on Secret World beta with Conan sub

Funcom has told Eurogamer that a new Age of Conan re-evaluation period gets underway today.

To lure you back, the developer is offering two weeks of free play to returning players and two weeks of double experience for everyone. And those who choose to subscribe will be showered with even more gifts.

Sign for three months earn a guaranteed place in The Secret World beta; sign for six months to claim a beta spot plus in-game AOC helmet that boosts experience earned by 10 per cent; and sign for 12 months to earn all that as well as a free copy of Conan expansion Rise of the Godslayer when it's released. These rewards are not retroactive; subscribers from October onwards are eligible.

This is the latest part of a considerable drive by Funcom to entice players back to Age of Conan. Most recently this entailed subscriptions to the MMO being slashed in price, and the introduction of a Veteran Point reward system for long-time members.

Desperate?

"We know that coming back to a massively multiplayer online game demands effort, so for us it's all about making it worthwhile for former players to come back," answered Erling Ellingsen, the mouth on the Funcom face.

"With all the improvements having been introduced to the game, we're eager to have as many former players as possible be exposed to all the updates. So for returning players we're offering two weeks free game time, and the ability to level up twice as fast as normal."

"It is natural for any subscription business to incentivise longer-term subscriptions in order to ensure a long-term relationship with the player," he told us.

Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer introduces the new Asian-themed area of Khitai, where the new playable race, the Khitan, live. Strangely, Funcom is focusing as much on low-level content as endgame treats. There's even the chance to raise tigers and wolves from cubs into gigantic, snarling mounts. Eurogamer MMO editor Oli Welsh calls Godslayer "a horizontal expansion" in his in-depth preview from August.

Rise of the Godslayer will be out during the first half of 2010.