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Developed by chinese Devs, but at least they are straightforward. The gameplay has more hoops than Conan Exiles but at least they allow you to play singleplayer unlike conan which always has to feed in FLS for no reason at all.
The very fact that there arent games in the same genre that have the same open mechanics and the same unrailed progression is the most probable cause that Funcom does not really improve the methodology of updates and fixes in the game.
If there was a game that has all that Conan Exiles has, but better, no one would play it.
The problem is: No other game do exist in this exact format because this format does not sell well. You might think you like this game, and many people might, but not many people like the game exactly because it does not make you do stuff, it does not present you with a curated experience from which you have no exit or shortcut.
And at the present, I fear soon there will be no game in which you choose male or female and you have actual male and female bodies to choose from.
I just really hoped Funcom gave this game a little more love, and some Tencent money, instead of leaving it.
Really is a damn shame that no one else has really tried their hand at the niche Conan Exiles seems to almost exclusively occupy at this point, to say nothing of seeing someone trying to improve upon what CE did. Even IF Funcom and their CCP overlords hadn't proven themselves to be worthless as both as game devs and performing basic customer service, the fact remains the game is getting old (though a much better studio would have done a better job updating the game in such a way to give it a longer lifecycle).
Before the argument, we need to set some definitions. Just as designing a car involves deciding if it will be an SUV, sedan, or coupe, developing a game means setting specific design choices from the outset. You can't simply "define for yourself" what type of game it is based on feeling or preference, as some YouTubers seem to suggest. Once a game is built around a certain design, changing that can be challenging, if not impossible.
Conan Exiles is a Sandbox Open-World Game—two terms that need to be defined. "Sandbox" contrasts with "Theme Park." In a sandbox game, players are given a world and the tools to interact freely within it, whereas theme park games present a curated experience with set paths and guided progression. Most players gravitate toward theme park games because they rarely, if ever, leave you without direction, lacking a goal, or feeling lost.
The game is also Open-World, a term often misused. Games like Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3), Cyberpunk 2077, and World of Warcraft are not truly open-world. A game qualifies as open-world when its environment is open to change—not just in progression, but in fundamental ways. It’s not about being able to “go anywhere”; it’s about whether the world can be reshaped. For example, in Cyberpunk, you might open up a new area, but these are predefined changes along set rails. By contrast, in Conan Exiles, players can modify the world without limitations—build anywhere, remove NPC camps by building over them, and establish a level 60 base in the starting zone. This freedom, without admin settings, distinguishes a true open-world, sandbox environment.
Players in sandbox open-world games often express concerns like, "I’ve done everything there is to do," or "we need new stories or levels." However, these comments reflect a misunderstanding of sandbox dynamics. In a true sandbox, every action allows for new possibilities, and the gameplay loops expand through creativity, not through finite tasks or rails. A well-crafted sandbox game could theoretically provide endless options, but adding rails transforms it into a theme park, even if the world is vast.
The idea that theme park and sandbox games exist on a spectrum is flawed. These two types of games are mutually exclusive by design. A game can’t be both sandbox and theme park simultaneously because a true sandbox lacks the structured guidance that defines theme parks.
A game that “pretends to be a sandbox” often attracts more players, as people enjoy the illusion of freedom, like the branching narratives in BG3 or the so-called open-world of Cyberpunk. However, these players generally want a list of tasks or objectives when they need them, which doesn’t align with the open-ended nature of a true sandbox. In essence, the market for sandbox games is like the difference between entrepreneurship and traditional employment: sandbox games demand that players create their own paths, while theme park games offer the security of predefined content.
Sandbox games evolve by expanding the world and offering new tools. Adding rails to a sandbox game limits its scope rather than enhancing it. For instance, in theme park games like BG3 or WoW, new settlements mean more quests, NPCs, and storylines—content delivered on rails. In a sandbox, however, the addition of new areas or tools enables players to reshape the world according to their own choices.
Conan Exiles was created at a time when Funcom was on the verge of collapse and needed a transformative project. By crafting a unique and uncompromising sandbox experience, Funcom turned the tide, attracting attention and securing essential investment. Many publications detail Funcom's impressive turnaround, attributing it to the innovative risks taken in Conan Exiles. Some of the criticisms leveled at Funcom's design choices are not only inaccurate but ignore the reality of what the developers achieved.
For those of us who appreciate games for their freedom and world-shaping potential, the hope is that small, passionate studios continue to create these kinds of experiences. Unlike theme park games, true sandbox games cater to a niche market, which may never be as commercially successful but offers a unique experience that resonates deeply with a dedicated audience.
Minecraft
Ark
Project Zomboid
There are a ton, actually.
You can attempt to narrowly define "Open World" and "Sandbox" to exclude as much as you'd like. You'd also need to define what those excluded games are, if not "Open World" and/or "Sandbox". You'd be stuck in definition purgatory trying to redefine all these words just to back up your original point.
Funcom created Conan Exiles because they needed a massive profit to pull themselves out of the red. At that point, Survival-Craft was en vogue, which was perfect since all they needed were basic assets; not skills, dialog, voice actors, or stories. Slap a Conan skin on it to move sales.
Literally, that's all. It wasn't that Conan Exiles was some amazing thing. It was really a low cost game with the potential to make tons of money due to the popularity of "Survival Craft" games at the time. Conan's name to sell the game and Nudity for controversy publicity.