Having been four years in development, Funcom and Eidos have finally announced that Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, the highly anticipated MMO based on the Conan universe, has gone gold. The gates will open May 20 in North America and May 23 in Europe.

“Even though it feels like this great adventure is coming to an end, it’s really not at all. The launch is just the beginning,” said game director/producer Gaute Godager. “I believe we have created a game that will stand the test of time by its own accord, but we are already busy planning future features and expansions. We want to continue expanding Conan’s world for many years to come, and we have great ideas on what to do!”

To prepare for the launch, Funcom is currently polishing the game prior to it going live. The company also noted that interest in the game has increased, as the official websites have seen a huge boost in the number of visitors, and the pre-order numbers are said to be staggering.

At launch, this game will have had over thirty magazine covers to its credit, and will be a showcase title for the Games for Windows lineup as well as NVIDIA’s “How it’s Meant to be Played” campaign.

An open beta for the game will begin May 1. Those who pre-order will get early access to the MMO.