MMORPG.com has revealed the new factions that will be introduced in Rise of the Godslayer, the upcoming Age of Conan expansion. The expansion will feature 12 new factions, but two of them will remain a secret until players seek them out. Aligning yourself with some factions will change your reputation with others, and each faction offers rewards like armor sets and mounts.

Check out part one to read about the Brittle Blade, Yellow Priests of Yun, the Scarlet Circle, Shadows of Jade, and the Last Legion. Then head over to part two for information on the Scholars of Cheng-ho, the Children of Yag-Kosha, Tamarin's Tigers, Wolves of the Steppes, and the Hyrkanians.

Funcom has given IGN a look at the Chosain Province, which is a new zone that will appear in the upcoming Rise of the Godslayer expansion. Here's Lead Designer Joel Bylos' take on the area, which is inspired by ancient Eastern culture:

"The story of the expansion is the story of an empire crumbling into chaos. Chosain Province is a region full of war and humanity at its worst, but on the eastern edge of the playfield, the once proud imperial highway still leads east to the heart of the empire. The road is choked with vines and weeds and none dare travel that way anymore. Why? Because it leads into the heart of the darkness."

For a closer look at Chosain Province, check out the new screenshots we just added to our Age of Conan gallery.

According to a post on the official Age of Conan forums, Funcom will be deleting characters below level 21 on inactive accounts without subscriptions to prepare for the upcoming server merge. Players who let their subscription run out at least seven months ago must reactivate their accounts now to ensure that their characters are not deleted.

Accounts with valid, running subscriptions will not be affected by this purge of low level characters from the game. Director of Communications Erling Ellingsen confirmed to Massively that this is being done to "free space in the database." You can read Funcom's full announcement after the jump.

There may be a glimmer of hope for disappointed fans who read the news that MMO developer Funcom (Age of Conan, The Secret World) was forced to sack 20 percent of its workforce, as we reported a few months ago. The layoffs didn't look good for the development pace of The Secret World, one of the most-anticipated MMOs of the coming year. Ironically, reports of the layoffs came less than a month after Funcom expanded its studios to Montréal, Canada. "In addition to strengthening our North American presence, the new studio will take advantage of the great incentive programs offered by the Québec region, incentives that makes Montréal one of the most cost effective locations in the world for developing MMO games," a press release from Funcom announced, back then. "This will in turn allow us to better balance our costs, making it possible for us to continue to expand our investments into the MMO segment."

Just a few days ago, Miguel Caron finally took the helm as CEO of Funcom Games Canada, according to Edge. "Caron will take on leadership of several strategic initiatives for Funcom, in several different areas of the MMO sector," Edge writes in the article. "One of his first mandates will be to lead the growth in employees at the Montreal-based company." Whether you're interested in the finer points of the gaming industry or not, fans of Age of Conan and the upcoming The Secret World should find a bit of solace in the announcement; corporate stability and a proper workforce are vital in both maintaining existing MMOs and the development of upcoming titles, such as The Secret World.

Funcom has kicked off the New Year by posting new pieces of concept art for The Secret World and Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer on Facebook. You can view both images after the jump.

The Secret World art is creepy, to say the least. Facebook fans are speculating that it depicts some sort of doll or idol since the person added for size reference is holding something small. What do you think?

Age of Conan Game Director Craig Morrison has written his final letter of 2009, and this one focuses on the 1.06 update cycle and what's in store for next year. Patch 1.06 is currently on the test server and Morrison really likes "the approach the team took with the Guild Renown rewards, in making the ranks unlock new quests as well as just giving inherent rewards."

As far as the upcoming Rise of the Godslayer expansion is concerned, "internally the vast majority of the content for the first three playfields is now complete and we are in the middle of the second iterations on those areas." The team is also looking at the possibility of implementing server merges and adding new transfer options in the future.

Morrison ended his letter by welcoming the Korean players who are currently part of the closed beta testing. You can read the full letter after the jump.

If you'd like to gain access to the beta tests for Age of Conan: Rise of the Godlayer or The Secret World, you may want to log into your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Funcom is currently hosting a contest to give away beta keys and in-game Age of Conan items, and all you need to do is join one or all of Funcom's social networking pages before the end of 2009 to be eligible to win.

Funcom has Facebook and Twitter pages for Age of Conan, The Secret World, Anarchy Online and the company itself. You can find links to all of the pages after the jump.

UPDATE: Funcom has announced that players who download the trial from the Age of Conan site before Jan. 1, 2010 will have unlimited free access to the first 20 levels. More information can be found after the jump.

If you're a FilePlanet subscriber, it looks like you have a permanent free ticket to the Hyborian kingdoms. FilePlanet is currently offering keys that give players unlimited lifetime access to the first part of Age of Conan for free. The offer sounds similar to Warhammer Online going free to play through Tier 1.

FilePlanet is only offering these Age of Conan unlimited free trial keys through Dec. 31 to residents of North America and Europe, so sign up as soon as possible if you'd like to take advantage of the deal. Players who sign up will also receive an Enruned Kosalan Ring which grants its bearer in-game damage bonuses.

Funcom announced today that it has established a new subsidiary named SweetRobot to publish its ventures into the social and casual MMO-gaming markets. SweetRobot's first project is the upcoming kid-friendly Pets vs. Monsters, a free-to-play game that's scheduled to launch in public beta later this month. A commercial release date has not yet been finalized.

Pets vs. Monsters is a casual adventure game for children ages 8-12 that allows players to explore different zones and collect various pets and skills. As the title suggests, the MMO will include some monster battles as well. You can view some screenshots in our gallery and a gameplay video after the jump.

Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas stated in a press release that Age of Conan and The Secret World will remain the company's primary focus, but they are excited to release their first attempt at an online game for a younger target audience.

Rise of the Godslayer, the first Age of Conan expansion, made its live broadcast world premiere yesterday on Xfire in a sneak preview event hosted by Game Director Craig Morrison and Lead Expansion Designer Joel Bylos. Players who missed the one-hour tour can now watch the full video over at Livestream.

The first six minutes of the footage are slow due to technical difficulties, but the video picks up steam as viewers are taken on a tour of a province of Khitai. Check it out to get a first-hand look at Rise of the Godslayer, which is scheduled to launch in the first half of 2010.