Funcom releases the first gameplay trailer for its sandbox survival game, Conan Exiles. Heads and even entire torsos will fly when the game hits Early Access this September.

As Funcom was preparing to bring MMO Age of Conan to market in 2008, there was a brief period where some thought the game could provide real competition for Blizzard behemoth World of Warcraft. That idea, of course, now seems laughable, as Age of Conan was plagued by bugs and numerous other issues from the start, forcing the title to eventually go free-to-play to keep the servers turned on.

While things didn't work out, Funcom now appears ready to take another stab at the Conan license, this time with a multiplayer sandbox survival game. The developer released the first screenshots for Conan Exiles in February, and now the developer is giving fans a more in-depth look at the title via a new gameplay trailer.

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The giant warning about "pre-alpha gameplay" at the start seems ominous, but at first glance, it looks like anyone who has played other open-world survival games like Rust will be at home here. Collect resources, build structures, fight bad guys. Check, check and check. As expected, players can build just a shack or work their way up to a full village, as long as another player doesn't come along and destroy everything.

As was previously announced, Conan Exiles plans to be brutal when it comes to violence. Players will take on the role of an "exile" who has been crucified and left to die and things only get darker from there. The game doesn't appear to be shying away from blood and gore either, as the character getting sliced in half at the torso can attest.

"You see heads coming off, you see arms coming off, you see blood, you see gore, you see dents in armor," Funcom said in the game's initial press release back in February.  "These are the things we're aiming for."

While it may seem like the last thing the world needs is yet another multiplayer sandbox survival game, Conan Exiles may have at least one thing going for it. While the title is focused on the multiplayer and can be played on public or private servers, the game will ship with a single-player mode as well.

Conan Exiles will launch on Steam Early Access on September 13, according to the game's Steam page. Funcom has confirmed a version for consoles is in development but no release date is set.