If anyone in Denver today witnesses a pirate with long, flowing hair rampaging through downtown wearing a loincloth and wielding a 2-handed sword, this would be the reason. Funcom announced today that Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures has slipped from the originally slated October release to March 25th of next year. Disappointing, but given the stated reason I can’t say I blame them. “We naturally regret that we have to push back ‘Age of Conan’. However, after careful consideration, and analysis of recent Beta feedback, we believe that the new release date is in the best interest of the gamers, our company and our owners,” said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom.

In fact, I applaud their decision to listen to their testers despite the fact that their share prices fell a sharp 25% with the announcement (source: Oslo Børs – thanks Leonard!). While Funcom bounced back nicely from one of the worst MMO launches of all time with Anarchy Online, I don’t think they want to go through that a second time. Crecente will just have to keep his loincloth in mothballs for a few more months. It’s for the best. Trust me.