Age of Conan director leaves Funcom

Age of Conan game director Gaute Godager has decided to leave developer Funcom after 16 years.

He will hand over the reins to Anarchy Online director Craig Morrison, who previously worked for the Telegraph and IGN.

"I have done my very best making this fabulous game, but I have concluded there are elements which I am dissatisfied with," said Godager in a statement.

"I have decided to act on this, and as a result I have chosen to leave Funcom. It is time to get new, fresh eyes on Age of Conan, and I wholeheartedly support the appointment of Craig."

Craig Morrison has outlined his top priorities as listening to and acting on concerns made by the players of the mature, fantasy MMO.

"I have a clear conviction I can lead the further development in a good way, evolving Age of Conan into something even better," said Morrison.

"At heart I will always be a gamer, and the coming changes and additions to Conan will always be done with the gamers in mind. Together I am certain we will shape an amazing future for Age of Conan."

Godager walks away after mounting criticism from Age of Conan fans that the game was simply unfinished and not ready to launch.

Parallels were drawn between the wobbly launch of Age of Conan and the wobbly launch of Anarchy Online, which Godager was also in control of at the time.

Age of Conan, despite complaints, boasts around 400,000 current subscribers. The game is also "still very much set to happen" on Xbox 360 sometime in 2009, although sorting the PC problems remains the dominant focus.

In the meantime, why not read the interview we did with Godager back in June.