Conan Exiles

Conan Exiles is an open-world survival game developed and published by Funcom, the Norwegian studio behind Age of Conan. It entered PC early access on January 31, 2017, and received its full release on May 8, 2018, for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Its setting draws on the Hyborian Age created by Robert E. Howard, but the player is not Conan. In the opening, Conan cuts the player character down from a cross and leaves them to survive in the Exiled Lands.

The Exiled Lands are both a wilderness and a prison. An enchanted bracelet keeps exiles within the region; crossing the boundary while wearing it is fatal. Rather than following a single sequence of story missions, players uncover the land’s history through ruins, inscriptions, characters, and dungeons. Locations include the Dregs, the Unnamed City, and the Black Keep. Piecing together the means to remove the bracelet provides a long-term goal beyond staying alive.

Survival begins with water, food, and shelter. The map stretches from desert and river valleys to jungle, snowy mountains, and volcanic terrain, making heat and cold practical concerns. Players gather resources, craft equipment, and build structures that can grow from a small refuge into a fortified settlement. Combat includes melee weapons, bows, shields, and enemies ranging from animals to human factions and undead creatures.

One of the game’s distinctive systems is the recruitment of thralls. Players can knock out certain human enemies, place them on a Wheel of Pain, and eventually assign them roles such as fighter, archer, cook, or crafting specialist. Religion also has mechanical effects: characters can worship gods including Mitra, Set, and Yog, construct altars, and pursue powerful religious rewards. These systems reflect the harsh setting, where the people encountered can become opponents, allies, or forced workers.

Conan Exiles supports solo play, cooperative play, and online servers with different player-versus-environment or player-versus-player rules. Funcom later expanded the game with Isle of Siptah, a separate map first released in early access in September 2020. Its features include vaults, the Maelstrom storm, and Surges that bring human enemies onto the island.

The free Age of Sorcery update arrived in September 2022, adding spellcasting, rituals, and a system in which greater magical power comes with corruption. Together with its dungeons, building, and dangerous landscapes, those additions give players several ways to pursue a life in Howard’s world without making Conan himself the protagonist.