The Secret World has been a critical success, with its unique low-fantasy setting, Lovecraftian atmosphere, dynamic and malleable skill system, and attractive graphics. Unfortunately, the gaming public doesn’t seem to be so keen on the venture, as Funcom has announced that, due to underwhelming subscriber numbers, they have had to induce “cost-cutting measures.” These include temporary layoffs of about half of the company’s staff, culled from various departments.
Funcom, which burst onto the scene back in the early days of the MMORPG with Anarchy Online and, more recently, Age of Conan, has a tremendous soft spot in their heart for enthralling fiction, with which they saturate their MMOs. But The Secret World has been embattled for a while now, with a free weekend only weeks after its release and a sudden posting on Steam in hopes of grabbing more subscriptions. The game is half off on Amazon by way of digital download right now and, it’s starting to seem, a free-to-play client might be in the future.