As odd as it may sound, Norwegian games developer Funcom has recently been bestowed with a $260,000 (NOK 1.5 million) grant to develop an online winter sports title. Awarded by the Norsk Filminstitutt to develop On the Edge of the World, the grant aims to raise awareness and promote Norwegian winter sports. First on tap – snowboarding.
According to the Norsk Filminstitutt’s site (in Norwegian), the title will be a free-to-play game, playable on both Mac and PC, and has a projected prototype delivery date of December 31, 2010. And while snowboarding will be the first focus of On the Edge of the World, the Filminstitutt indeally wants a highly modular platform whereby various Norwegian winter sports can be represented (Alpine skiing, cross country skiing, etc.). With a projected total development cost of around $1 million, this influx of $260k means that the Norsk Filminstitutt’s grant will cover over a quarter of the development costs. Something the struggling Funcom could certainly use.
Slated to be directed by experience Funcom employee Jørgen Tharaldsen (Product Director for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures), On the Edge of the World should also have cross media features that should be able to translate to film, television and the sports featured in the game.
As we’ve seen over the past year, Funcom, the one time heavily into massive games with their associated payment options, is, be it it’s own choice or not, slowly morphing into a free-to-play development studio. Back in May, buried amidst a ‘things are looking better….really…they are” report about the state of Age of Conan, Funcom slipped in that they’re also working on two separate free-to-play titles, each aimed at a unique demographic. Fast forward nine months, and they’re not working on another free-to-play? And this time with a grant from the Norwegian government?
Which brings to mind another issue. Wasn’t Funcom the developer that recently let 20 percent of it’s staff members go, while encouraging those remaining to move to it’s Quebec, Canada studios? Does that now mean those 20 percent might have their job back? Does that mean that the Norwegian government is literally trying to buy Funcom into staying in Norway? And with an annual loss of $34 million in 2008, can Funcom actually deliver?
Tags: Age of Conan, free to play, Funcom, Jørgen Tharaldsen, Norway, On the Edge of the World, snowboard
