Shares in Norwegian gamemaking company Funcom were savaged on the Oslo Stock Exchange Friday, dropping almost 50 percent on news of poor sales of its latest computer game, The Secret World.
Since the game was released on July 3, the price of Funcom’s shares had fallen by half amid investor demand for firm sales figures. When Funcom finally come up with the numbers on Friday, it was halved again, to less than NOK 3.75 per share.
The Secret World sales figures were only half those achieved by Funcom’s previous project, Age of Conan, which also sold poorly.
Funcom’s top executive Ole H. Schreiner said he was surprised by the low sales figures for “The Secret World.”
“Obviously we are disappointed. We had not expected this after the reviews the game has received,” he told news website dn.no.
“This is a temporary setback. I don’t think there is any reason to lose faith in either the company or in The Secret World.”
Several reviews on gaming websites have rated The Secret World favorably, calling it a “quality game.”
A reviewer for dn.no called it a very powerful role-playing game, “the most entertaining thing Funcom has ever made.”
The Secret World is set in today’s world, but with behind-the-scenes secret organizations with names like Illuminati, Templars amd Dragons competing for world domination. Players are assigned to travel the world and uncover various conspiracies and secrets behind various supranatural phenomena.
Funcom is a medium-sized company based in Oslo’s Skøyen district. For years, it has attracted talented game designers and other experts from around the world. According to the company website, there are currently 250 people representing 25 different nationalities working for Funcom in offices in Norway, Canada, Switzerland, the US and China.
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