Funcom's barbaric MMORPG seems to be coming along according to plan. As previously hinted, the beginning of summer also marks the beginning of the first phase of beta testing, which Funcom is currently conducting with the help of a small team of people from their internal Quality Assurance department, as well as selected, experienced Beta testers working - that is, playing - under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). What this means is that, basically, Age of Conan has reached a highly playable state, although don't expect to see too many beta impressions and screenshots flying around the 'net just yet.

For that, apparently, we'll still have to wait a few more months. According to Funcom's latest press release, more external testers are only planned to be included in the Beta later this year, during Fall. The Age of Conan beta will then evolve gradually, with more and more external testers being added as the game moves closer to launch (hopefully at the end of 2006, if all goes well).

"We have worked hard on 'Age of Conan' for more than two years, and it's great to see that our collective effort has led us to this point," said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. "The game already looks stunning and it's a lot of fun to play. We are looking forward to include our community, partners and press once we move into the later stages of the Beta."

Funcom would like to remind interested Beta testers that signing up for the Conan newsletter as well as registering on the official forums will increase the chance of getting a Beta spot.

(N.B. Archive text, links removed)