funcon

MMO The Secret World is set to be relaunched this spring as Funcom try to stem its declining popularity. This will involve adapting the game from an MMO into a free-to-play role-playing game that will utilize a shared world. According to a statement given to Eurogamer, the changes include: “Agartha (The World Hub) has been completely redesigned. We have made improvements to visuals like character models, character heads, combat effects/animations, lighting in playfields, and we’ve increased view distance in some playfields. Keep in mind these are improvements, not a generational jump in graphics. We are still using the original graphics engine.” The changes are also significant enough so that combat and character progression will have to be completely upgraded, while the graphics are also set to seen an improvement. The shift in focus away from MMO elements means that players will be able to progress through the game while playing alone rather than having to team up with others.