If you pre-ordered Age of Conan hoping to begin life in Hyboria a few days before launch, you may be out of luck; the game's Early Access program is now sold out, according to an official announcement on the game's forums.
AoC Community Manager Oliver "Tarib" Kunz broke the news this morning, revealing that anyone who hasn't yet used the Early Access entry code handed out with Age of Conan pre-orders will be unable to access the program.
Fortunately, this only seems to affect English-speaking fans. Early Access space is still available for the game's German and French incarnations, though the abrupt closure of the English Early Access program leads many to speculate that the German or French versions could close at any moment.
Many fans of the game are understandably upset by the news.
While Funcom always reserved the rights to alter the Early Access program as necessary, many felt the act of pre-ordering the game was enough to guarantee a spot in the program, and to suddenly, and without warning, have their assumed spot taken from them is seen as a monumental slight.
Additionally, with Funcom's announcement offering no explanation as to why the sudden closure was necessary, many fans are predicting technological issues with the game -- a forecast backed by the rocky semi-public beta test Funcom recently offered.
No MMO launch in the history of the genre has been without its share of glitches, but when combined with the aforementioned beta issues, this latest snafu is certainly not the best way to launch a title seen by many as a potential "WoW-killer."
Early Access sold out [AoC Official Forums]
Image courtesy Funcom
