Conan Exiles

Lore & Background

Conan Exiles is set in the fictional prehistoric Hyborian Age. Player characters begin convicted of crimes, sentenced to death, and crucified under the desert sun before being rescued by Conan. As exiles, they must navigate the Exiled Lands, a harsh desert landscape. The game world includes multiple biomes: the Frozen North, The Highlands, a Volcano area, and three additional biomes (The Savannah, The Floodlands, and The Ashlands) added with the Isle of Siptah expansion DLC in Q3 2020 (September 15, 2020). The Exiled Lands map alone is roughly 11 km², while the full map including the Isle of Siptah is approximately 53 km².

Reader's Guide

Conan Exiles is significant as Funcom's most commercially successful title, selling 1.4 million copies by July 2018 and becoming the fastest selling game in the company's history. Its early access release on Steam sold over 320,000 copies in the first week and nearly 480,000 net copies within 28 days. The game received 'mixed or average' reviews on all platforms according to Metacritic. Its legacy includes controversial character customization options, such as sliders for breast and penis size (the latter censored in North America by the ESRB), and a detailed religion system allowing players to swear allegiance to one of seven pantheon gods and summon avatars. The game introduced a thrall system for capturing NPCs, a pet system added in 2018, and a mount system implemented on 5 December 2019. The backstory, revealed by Warmaker Klael, explains the origin of the Exiled Lands and the bracelet worn by players, tying the narrative to Conan's search for the Serpent Ring of Set.

Did You Know?

• The game sold over 320,000 copies in its first week of early access on Steam.
• An enhanced version for Xbox Series X and Series S was released on 8 June 2021.
• The base Exiled Lands map alone is roughly 11 km², while the full map including the Isle of Siptah is approximately 53 km².
• Players can summon avatars of deities as a pinnacle form of offense.

Survival in the Exiled Lands

The core loop of Conan Exiles places the player as a condemned criminal crucified beneath a merciless desert sun, only to be pulled from the cross by Conan himself. From that moment, the exile must wrestle with hunger, thirst, and a host of threats ranging from crocodiles and hyenas to dragons and dinosaur-like shalebacks. The playable world spans roughly 53 square kilometres and has grown considerably since launch: the Highlands arrived in 2017, a high-altitude Volcano region followed in mid-2018 introducing Obsidian as a rival to Star Metal, and the Isle of Siptah expansion in early 2021 added the Savannah, Floodlands, and Ashlands. Character creation offers gender, voice, body sliders, and a roster of races including Cimmerian, Stygian, Hyborian, and Nordheimer. Faith is woven into progression through seven pantheon deities—Set, Yog, Mitra, Ymir, Derketo, Crom, and Zath—each granting crafting recipes and summonable avatar forms for siege warfare. A hidden eighth god, Jhebbal Sag, is unlocked through a dungeon quest. There is no rigid class structure; instead, experience earned through combat, gathering, crafting, and even idle time unlocks attribute points and new recipes.

The Story of the Giantkings

The lore of the Exiled Lands is delivered by Warmaker Klael, the last surviving Giantking and one of the ancient rulers of the region. According to his account, humans first arrived as refugees, and the Giantkings granted them the frozen northern wastelands as a homeland. Over a millennium, the two peoples traded and coexisted in peace while the humans built a city among the trees, pursued esoteric sciences, and worshipped demon deities. That harmony shattered when human greed ignited a war. To control their prisoners, the Giantkings forged the bracelet that every player character wears—it bends the wearer's will, grants comprehension of the Giantking tongue, and bars any escape. The humans were pressed into combat and labour for their captors. Near the war's end, the humans unveiled a devastating weapon forged through science that obliterated troops and petrified the survivors. In desperation, the Giantkings performed a ritual that unleashed a catastrophic Sandstorm, scorching the land into the desert wasteland players now traverse. Every Giantking perished except Klael. Thousands of years later, Conan arrives to speak with the Warmaker and sets out in search of the Serpent Ring of Set.

Development Timeline and Technical Evolution

Funcom both developed and published Conan Exiles, shipping it for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. The title entered early access in early 2017 and graduated to full release on 8 May 2018. A console-enhanced edition targeting Xbox Series X and Series S arrived on 8 June 2021, and the most significant technical leap came with Conan Exiles Enhanced on 5 May 2026, which rebuilt the game on Unreal Engine 5. Content updates have steadily broadened the experience: a 2018 patch introduced capturable pets that can be raised from eggs or baby animals for travel and home defence. A mount system was originally planned for launch but cut due to console performance constraints; it finally shipped on 5 December 2019, supporting both mounted travel and combat. The Isle of Siptah DLC, released in Q1 2021, expanded the map with three new biomes. Funcom's community manager Jens Erik confirmed the finished base-game world covers approximately 53 square kilometres, a footprint that has grown with each successive update cycle.

Commercial Performance and Critical Response

Conan Exiles became a commercial landmark for Funcom almost immediately. In its first week of early access on Steam, the title moved more than 320,000 copies. By the end of the first 28 days, net sales after accounting for returns and chargebacks had surpassed 480,000 units—just 7,000 short of the total Funcom had projected for the entire first year. By July 2018, cumulative sales had reached 1.4 million copies, cementing the game as the biggest and fastest-selling title in the studio's history. Despite that commercial triumph, critical reception was more measured. Review aggregator Metacritic summarised the game's scores across all platforms as 'mixed or average,' suggesting that while the survival loop and the Conan licence attracted a massive player base, professional reviewers found the experience uneven. The contrast between strong sales and middling reviews underscores a recurring tension for Funcom: a title that resonated powerfully with a broad audience while drawing more tempered assessments from critics.