This one's definitely no rumor. Funcom itself has announced on their official homepage that they are cutting "around 20% of the staff...mostly in the Company's Norwegian subsidiary."

What would you say if we told you that a Thai government official said that he wants to prosecute game makers for instances of people performing crimes that mimic things they saw in a video game?

That's exactly what one Somchai Jaroen-amnuaysuk of the Welfare Promotion, Protection and Empowerment of Vulnerable Groups Office said recently. Find out what the official said after the jump!

With the great response the community gave Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, it's no surprise that it has topped the US PC sales charts. To find out more, head on over to the full article by clicking on the "read more" link below.

We have had quite a share of sports titles last week, and this time we're going to add a little more into the fitness equation with the release of Nintendo's much-hyped up Wii Fit as well as UEFA EURO 2008 (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, PSP, PC). Meanwhile, PS3 owners should have yet another field day at the retail stores with the release of the highly anticipated FPS, Haze, and the karaoke title SingStar. See the full article for more details!

* Article originally posted May 19, 2008 at 12:45AM

It's always heartwarming to see game developers getting their dues for all the long hours and backbreaking work they put into making video games for us to enjoy. Such was the case when developers Massive Entertainment, Funcom, and Vendler Game Consulting became the first few to receive Nordic Games Awards in an inaugural ceremony held during the two-day games conference.

Massive's World In Conflict took the title of Most Innovative Game Technology from hopefuls Alan Wake of Remedy and Funcom's Age of Conan - the latter, however, bouncing back to take home the Most Promising Nordic Game Project award.

It's to note that Age of Conan went up against nominees coming from all over the Nordic region, with Alan Wake and World in Conflict in the roster which makes the Most Promising Nordic Game Project award all the more important. Nothing better than being called out as the best in your own playing field, after all.

The final award, bestowed upon by IGDA president Jason Della Rocca, was for Best New Nordic Game Talent - and Vendler Game Consulting walked off with the win, leaving behind nominees Lockpick and Gogogic.

Congratulations to all developers, and more appreciation for the guys behind the code!

More money's rolling in for Funcom, and this time it's in the form of a grant from the Norwegian Film Fund. The grant enables Funcom to establish a core technology team which will research online-only delivery methods of episodic content, as well as lay the foundation for a later pre-production phase of Dreamfall Chapters.

Dreamfall Chapters begins right where Dreamfall: The Longest Journey ended. It will be released in episodic form, and as Funcom seeks to further strengthen an already established IP through this online-only continuation, the potential for a future The Longest Journey MMO increases.

"We will be researching an online-only continuation of the epic Longest Journey saga, and we very much look forward to develop new chapters to the Dreamfall gaming community," said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. "To see the Norwegian government take such an active role in nurturing the local game development industry is impressive. In return for their trust we aim to deliver a modern adventure game with unique qualities."

The grant is part of the Norwegian government’s active endorsement of the Norwegian game development industry. Since the inception of the program in 2004 the government has supported a wide range of games, including Dreamfall: The Longest Journey.

Funcom has finally released a video of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, showing the game in all its DirectX 10 glory. Check out the clip below.

Granted, Google Video isn't really the best way to present a game running on Microsoft's much-hyped and highly anticipated DirectX 10 technology, but the video shows off some of DirectX 10's features like improved parallax mapping, which makes the ground in Age of Conan stand out and appear bumpy and uneven. Other graphics goodies that come with DirectX 10 are improved shadows, lighting, texture quality and particle effects.

Age of Conan is presently in closed beta and is slated for release on both PC and Xbox 360. While the PC version will be running on DirectX 10, the Xbox 369 version will be utilizing DirectX 9.

The trial version for Dreamfall: The Longest Journey has been available for a couple of days. To add to the fun, Funcom has agreed with Valve to bring the action-adventure game to Steam (Valve's broadband platform for bringing online digital content and games to consumers).

Those who still haven't gotten immersed in Dreamfall's Stark and Arcadia (the two halves of Earth) might ask if it's worth it. Where have you been all this time?

• Dreamfall got nominated for a bunch of awards from GameSpot, GameSpy, GameTrailers, IGN, the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.
• Dreamfall won many of the awards it was nominated for. These include awards with humble names like PC Adventure Game of the Year, Xbox Adventure Game of the Year, Best Music, Best Story, PC Adventure Gamers' Choice, Editor's Choice, Best PC Adventure Game, Best of E3...

The Xbox version for the game has already been released to much critical acclaim, but making Dreamfall available on Steam will definitely give it a lot of good exposure to more gamers.

There's even a two-week promo: save 10 dollars off the regular price, making the game available for only US$ 29.99.

Gamers will now finally be able to get a taste of the critically-acclaimed Dreamfall: The Longest Journey for free, thanks to a recently announced free trial version of the Funcom title.

The free trial contains the entire English version of the game and clocks in at around 3.7GB. It gives full access to the first two chapters of the game, and when the free trial is up, players are prompted to purchase the game digitally. By following the instructions and entering payment details, a code will unlock access to the entire game.

The free trial can be downloaded through lots of hosting sites. Just click on the "Read" link below, and you'll get to one of those sites. Enjoy the demo!

What's better than "free?" Well, if you're a beta tester, you get "free + !" If you've ever wanted to into the MMORPG scene without having to pay for the game, then Anarchy Online may just be the ticket you're looking for. If you're looking for an MMO that gives you the opportunity to play for free till 2008 and get a shot at trying out new content in advance, then Anarchy Online REALLY will be your cup of tea.

It's simple, really. Funcom is looking for 150 beta testers to try out their game, but they aren't looking for just any sort of powergaming beta testers. They're looking for some souls "who have never played Anarchy Online or who have not played since the game first launched to test new player features and provide feedback." All you have to do is send an application form with your full name, country of residence, and any MMO or beta testing experience you've had to marketing@ark.anarchy-online.com and hope you get picked to be one of the fabled 150.

Now for the fun stuff. What does a beta tester get that the regular players don't? You get, and I quote, "a full upgrade from the free AO basic account to one that includes Shadowlands, Alien Invasion and the Alien Invasion preorder bonus (Pet leets) along with 90 days of free game time at no cost." In other words, your beta account acts like a paid account for 90 days, and you get to see content that those who play for free don't usually get to see. Sounds like a good deal, so you may want to start typing that application form now. Enjoy!