Turbine has announced that their MMO, Lord of the Rings Online, will be going the same way as another of their MMO titles, Dungeons & Dragons Online – that is to say, the game will soon be free-to-play. The game will enter into a beta testing phase for the new model on June 16, and interested players can head on over to the website to sign up.
Speaking in an interview with GamerVision, Kate Paiz of Turbine has said that new players can expect to get around 200 to 300 hours of gameplay for free. Of course there is incentive to purchase content packs and the expansion to the game for those who haven’t had enough after 300 free hours of gameplay.
“The Lord of the Rings Online is introducing a free-to-play option to our subscription, and we’re also bringing a store full of consumables, convince, and concierge options that is absolutely optional to all players,” said Paiz.
“Free players, or any players, will be able to enter the game at the beginning, and play the first three regions completely for free. That’s about 200 to 300 hours of gameplay. Then they’ll have the opportunity to play the Epic Story throughout the first area of the game: Shadows of Angmar. They’ll also have the option to purchase content packs along the way in the higher level regions to enhance their basic gameplay,” Paiz continued.
“Subscribers will continue to continue to get all of their content for free up to Moria, which will continue to be a purchasable expansion. In general, you’ll be able to have a great time consuming content, earning Turbine Points through gameplay and purchasing them in the store, and you can use those to enhance your gameplay through all of the items that are there,” Paiz concluded.
Turbine has previously revealed that their revenue for Dungeons & Dragons Online increased by 500% since the free-to-play system was introduced.
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