"While Big Stage may be planning to implement the technology in games soon, it is not currently slated for implementation into Age of Conan," said Funcom.

The confusion seems to have originated from miscommunication and tricky word play. Big Stage had put up a trailer demonstrating the technology with Age of Conan assets, telling viewers to look for it “in-game soon”, but interestingly did not specify if the game would indeed be the violent MMO.

This is made possible through user-provided digital images, which when used with Big Stage’s web-based technology creates a 3D “@ctor”, which can then be customized with accessories. GGL is handling promotion for the feature, with prizes for those who share their “@ctor” the most.

The technology is currently limited to videos and images on the web, though they promise that the “@ctors” users create today will be supported in-game soon.

More videos are expected soon from the developer. The game is in development for PC and Xbox 360, and has no definite release date.

As far as we know, the MMO will be set in the present day and will strive to “create a detailed world where players feel empowered and part of something big, something mystical and epic.”

The Secret World is in development for PC and Xbox 360.

In even more bad news for the company, Olav Sandnes, its chief financial officer, has resigned.

The worst news is yet to come: Age of Conan boasted 700,000 subscribers following its May 2008 release, but Norwegian financial group DnB NOR Markets now estimates that subscriptions to the game have fallen below 100,000. This is in line with previous word that Funcom had shut down 63% of the MMO’s servers in January, reducing the game’s worlds from 49 to 18.

The mergers were announced soon after the game’s original director left due to dissatisfaction with the project. Craig Morrison, the new director, has said that the mergers would “ensure the best gameplay experience.”

Funcom notes in this forum post that it hopes to merge the European servers in one go and the US servers in another. No timeline was provided, though.

While the company didn’t reveal the scale of the layoffs, many are speculating that about 70% of the company’s workforce has been cut, with the custom service and quality service divisions seeing the most job cuts.

The company’s recent blockbuster MMO Age of Conan has been going through some tough times, seeing a sharp decrease in subscribers. Additionally, the game’s director left the project in September, citing dissatisfaction with the title. However, the new director has focused on responding to subscriber feedback, recently releasing a large, free update.

"We have been determined that the new DirectX 10 functionality would not just be a ‘gimmick’ addition to the game and would add visual quality to the game," wrote new game director Craig Morrison. "We feel that the version we are preparing now for testing does achieve this and in a way that will find the right balance between visuals and performance.”

While no release date was provided, Morrison did note that the next update will feature two new dungeons for high-level players and more.

The update also adds a new dungeon – the Amphitheater – as well as an “epic monster” that has to be defeated. All game clients will be automatically updated once they login.

As for the future of the game, director Craig Morrison wrote an open letter, stating that they are currently focusing on DX10, more dungeons, item revamps and more.

"I think that the fact that Gaute leaves means that we get a direction which is more player-centric, since [new game director Craig Morrison] is so good at being hands-on with the communities at all times," he said.

Godager was a founding member of Funcom and served as producer on the MMO through its launch before leaving, citing dissatisfaction with the final product.

"We have seen but the start of the evolution of Age of Conan, and out of all the people in Funcom, I can’t think of anyone which could do it better than Craig," said Tharaldsen.

This post quotes Funcom’s European product manager Erling Ellingsen as saying Godager “wanted to take the consequence” of various aspects of the game by leaving the company he co-founded in 16 years ago. Ellingsen doesn’t exactly specify what those elements are, but he does offer insight into the various areas Godager was dissatisfied with. This includes the addition of PVP features in the game, as well as new quests, exploration and more.

Replacing Godager will be Craig Morrison, who previously served as producer and game director for Anarchy Online.

The studio also revealed screenshots to highlight the difference between the game’s DX9 and DX10 graphics effects. DX10 support will be added to the game in a free future update.