The Battle Begins in the Secret World

by: Mike - posted: 6/19/2012 2:17:00 PM

The July 3 release date of The Secret World is right around the corner, so Funcom is offering one final Beta weekend to draw in more players. Previous Beta players once again have access to the upcoming weekend, along with anyone who registers via the game's website before June 22.

The Beta will begin at 9 a.m. Pacific time on June 22, and will run until 11:59 p.m. June 24. If the 1.3 million players of the previous Beta weekend are any indication, the numbers will only rise before the game's full release.

MASSIVE FINAL BETA WEEKEND FOR ‘THE SECRET WORLD’ STARTS JUNE 22

– Everyone registered for The Secret World beta before June 22^nd will be able to join the battle for world domination in the largest Beta Weekend yet –

Durham, USA – June 19^th, 2012 –‘The Secret World’, the highly anticipated modern-day massively multiplayer online game of myths, legends and conspiracies, draws ever closer to its July 3^rd release date. In preparation for launch, Funcom is excited to announce that the fourth and final Beta Weekend – titled ‘The Battle Begins’ – will be made open to all of the more than 1.3 million gamers who have signed up to beta test ‘The Secret World’. Guaranteed access to the final Beta Weekend will also be given to everyone registering via the game’s official website by June 22^nd (use the beta sign-up form on the right).

‘The Secret World Beta Weekend #4: The Battle Begins’ starts at 9am PDT on June 22^nd and runs for almost three entire days until 11.59pm PDT on June 24^th. During that time players will be able to experience all the content that has been included in the three previous Beta Weekends, such as all three secret society starter experiences, the town of Kingsmouth, the Savage Coast and the Polaris and Hell Raised dungeons. Brand new this weekend is the inclusion of player vs. player gameplay, where the secret societies must duke it out in legendary locations such as Stonehenge and Eldorado. Participants will also get to experience the persistent player vs. player war zone of Fusang Projects, where over two hundred players clash together in a massive struggle for server-wide power. The outcome of these battles affects all players belonging to the victorious secret society, across the server.

The previous Beta Weekend – titled ‘Hell Raised’ – ran from June 15^th to June 17^th and saw the highest number of players yet participating and is undoubtedly the most successful event yet.

“The game is definitely living up to our expectations, and it appears this is a sentiment we share with our testers as well,” says Funcom SVP of Sales & Marketing Morten Larssen. “The playtime per participant during the last Beta Weekend was very impressive, shattering all records from previous Beta Weekends or even beta events from our previous games. This is a strong indication of the engagement and depth of the gameplay experience. Beta surveys have shown that four out of five players will recommend the game to their friends, something we find remarkably positive and a true testament to the quality of the game and the amazing work the team has done.”

‘The Secret World’ is consistently mentioned as one the most highly anticipated MMOs in development. The highly engaged and active community surrounding the game continues to grow quickly, and hundreds of thousands of community members have already sworn allegiance to their secret society through online initiation tests as well as ‘The Secret War’ Facebook-powered pre-launch social experience that saw over 250.000 participants actively engage in the conflict for their secret society.