The Secret World (formerly known under the working titles Cabal and The World Online) is an upcoming MMORPG from developer Funcom (makers of Anarchy Online and Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures), whose development has been officially confirmed on March 6, 2007. The final title of the project was confirmed on May 11, 2007. Ragnar Tørnquist is the creative director of the game.

After announcing the development of The Secret World, Funcom project director Jorgen Tharaldsen informed the press that the game uses the same engine as Age of Conan. According to Funcom, the game will blend elements of MMO gameplay with alternate reality gaming and social networking. At GDC 2009, Tørnquist gave an interview to GameSpot regarding TSW, revealing more about its gameplay. There will be neither levels, nor classes in the game; instead, the character building will be skill-based. This way, the developers plan to avoid level grinding, allowing new players to join the game more easily. The player characters will be customizable to a large degree, particularly in their choice of clothing, weapons (which range from shotguns to swords and can be customized and upgraded), and the supernatural powers they acquire. Combat against computer-controlled monsters will be one of the game`s central points and will require more of player`s attention than contemporary MMORPGs. The players will be able to form teams to fight together but in an earlier blog posting, Tørnquist assured that the game can also be played in single-player mode, should a player be uncomfortable or unable to play with a group.[8] According to him, the game is story-driven and there will be an overarching linear plot, as well as numerous side-quests, ranging from investigation to sabotage and hunting, since diversity of the gameplay will be another central point.

The game will feature an original setting created by Funcom, with contemporary elements as well as "magic, myths, conspiracies and dark horrors". Contrary to rumors, spawned by this game`s second working title, it has neither anything to do with, nor is inspired by the .hack franchise and its setting. Tornquist debunked several rumors surrounding The Secret World, stating that "there are no aliens or sci-fi elements" in it.[9] He also denied any connection of TSW to The Longest Journey.

At GDC 2009, Tornquist revealed more about the setting and the story. He stressed that the game is set in the "modern day real world" but also incorporates pieces of ancient mythologies, real and false history, urban legends, and pop culture, and ties them into an original back-story. The latter is said to go back in time for 100 million years and encompass long extinct ancient civilizations. The players will assume the roles of supernatural heroes who participate in a "future war between good and evil", fighting dark monsters that threaten the modern world. Tornquist identified the genre of the story as dark fantasy, mentioning vampires, demons, and zombies. The players will be free to travel across different locations of the world (both real, like London and New York, and mythical, e.g. Agartha, the legendary city located within Hollow Earth[12]) and even in time, to pursue the overall plot and investigate new mysteries in connection to the dark invasion. The overall plot will have a conclusion but the designers also leave room for future expansions.

The pre-production of the game started in 2002, but in mid-2003, most of the working team was transferred to the development of Dreamfall. The work on The Secret World was resumed after Dreamfall shipped, with many of the latter`s designers (including Ragnar Tørnquist) playing key roles in the former`s development. TSW is being produced at the Funcom studios in Oslo and Beijing. In August 2008, it was stated that the development team consisted of people previously involved in the development of Dreamfall, Anarchy Online, Age of Conan, EverQuest II, and The Longest Journey. In November Funcom stated that 70 people were working on the project. On January 18, 2009, Tørnquist commented on his blog (admittedly, without Funcom`s approval) that "2009 will be the year where [players] learn about the secret world", but Eurogamer speculated whether this meant the actual game release or simply the release of detailed information about it.