Funcom, makers of Age of Conan, are looking to user-generated content (UGC) to boost the number of online players. Age of Conan is a roll-playing game (RPG) that had as many as 700,000 subscribers when the game launched last summer, but that number has sinced dropped below 100,000.

Machinima is a style of filmmaking that usually uses graphics engines from video games to create short films, music videos or montages. Most video game companies have frowned on the craft because the content the creators use is under copyright. Funcom has embraced the concept and even pushed for more users to start creating machinima videos. (more…)

Machinima.com has raised $3.85 million in new financing from MK Capital and a group of private investors to fund business expansion.

The site focuses on user-generated and professional videos, trailers, gameplay, montages and music videos as well as the original Machinima.com series and movies created in World of Warcraft, Halo, Sims 2, GTA, Battlefield, and Counterstrike.

“This funding is an endorsement that Machinima.com as a next-generation online video-programming brand that not only delivers significant reach and video views, (more…)