The PR machine at Eidos is working around the clock to promote the upcoming release of Funcom's pixelated blood-drenched MMORPG, Age of Conan.

Word is, Funcom has "sold out" English-language early access slots for the game. Offered as a way to boost pre-orders, the early access program will allow customers to enter the world of Hyboria a full three days earlier than the rest of us saps who will be firing up AoC on May 20.

"We knew that a specific number of players would be willing to take the offer and get 3 days earlier access to the game," Funcom posted on their forum. "That the registrations would reach that set limit as fast as they did we didn't quite expect."

The reason given behind the limited number of early access slots (and that whole "sold out" hoopla) is that giving "unlimited" early access would hurt the download client, as the early Hyboria goers would have to download the code instead of installing off a DVD.

"The limit was set to make sure that registered players would have the chance to download the client and access the game servers," it added. "With an unlimited amount of players, that would not be possible."