The Lord of the Rings Online™ Going Free-to-Play This Autumn! Â
Coming this autumn, we are proud to announce a major update that will make The Lord of the Rings Online™ (LOTRO) free-to-play for everyone. LOTRO will be introducing a new pricing model which allows new players to download the game and play for free. Everyone will be able to purchase expansions, quest packs, items, and account services a la carte from the new LOTRO Store, or join our VIP program to get unlimited access to all of the game’s content for one low price.
The best part is – as existing subscribers you’re automatically enrolled in our VIP program! As a VIP you’ll continue to get unlimited access to the game and all of the content you already enjoy, in addition to some extra perks!
In addition to the new pricing model, the award winning story will be extended, a new region unveiled and much more!
LOTRO will offer players unlimited choice!
  * Free means Free! – New players will be able to join with millions of other adventurers as they explore the most complete and authentic recreation of Middle-earth ever created and participate in LOTRO’s award-winning epic story up to level 50 completely free.
  * new LOTRO Store introduced! – The LOTRO Store will be loaded with thousands of convenience items as well as expansion packs, premium content, additional character slots, potions, character customisation and more! The LOTRO Store will be seamlessly integrated into the game allowing you new and exciting ways to enhance and customise your experience using Points which can be purchased in the store or earned through gameplay.
  * Be a LOTRO VIP! – Players who elect to become a LOTRO VIP will have unlimited access to all premium content, receive priority server access, 5 character slots as standard (excluding additional slots gained from Mines of Moria or the Adventurer's pack), a shared bank slot, and a monthly allotment of Points to spend in the new LOTRO Store. NB: All current lifetime subscription holders will automatically become VIPs under the new pricing model.
For more information, please see our special LOTRO free-to-play FAQ. Join the discussion in our forums at this link.
We’re very excited about LOTRO’s move to Free-to-Play and we can’t wait for you to see all the incredible changes the team has already made to the game.
More from the EU forums..
Prime Bbcode Spoiler Show Prime Bbcode Spoiler
The Lord of the Rings Online™ European Free to Play launch delayed
Update
Hi folks,
Following our announcement on Wednesday regarding the delay of Free-to-Play in Europe, we can now provide you with a further update as to its status. It’s not good news I’m afraid. We are currently anticipating a delay of more than a week, potentially launching around the end of the month, and are still not in a position where we are able to confirm an exact date.
As you know, we were tracking a launch date of 10th September and up until recently thought this was still achievable; however, due to some major obstacles this date is simply not possible. Many of you have asked for a detailed explanation as to why this has come to be and why there wasn’t very much notice of the delay. Regarding the implementation challenges we talked about, the good news is that our Store and new servers are just about ready to roll, barring some final, live stress testing that needs to be performed.
We understand this is disappointing for you, more so because of our lack of communication in the earlier part of the week coupled with the last minute bad news. As the situation was changing literally from hour to hour, we weren’t in a position to tell you anything with any stability to it.
As we work to bring Free-to-Play to launch here, all eligible players will still continue to accrue loyalty rewards as per the rewards table on the website. We’re also laying on a bunch of your favourite live events on all servers starting next week and we’re introducing a community competition to allow you to take out your frustration on us and win some great prizes in doing so. We know this won’t substitute for the new Store and Enedwaith, but maybe it will make things a little more fun for you as you wait. Look out for announcements on all of these things within the next few days.
As always, thanks for your support and patience and a particular thank you to all of you who took the time to send us personal messages, those were awesome and really appreciated!
--------------------------------------------------------
THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE™ EUROPEAN FREE TO PLAY LAUNCH DELAYED
Codemasters Online today announces that the launch of The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) Free to Play Store and the latest content, Book 2; Ride of the Grey Company will now launch across Europe later than expected.
"We are really pleased with the performance of the game and excited about the response to Free to Play from our players.” said Mike Rowland, Producer of LOTRO. “Given the complexities and challenges faced in the preparation and implementation of the new store to work within our infrastructure, we feel more time is needed to deliver the high level of service our players have quite rightly come to expect. As a result, we have decided to delay launch to ensure that we can support the massive increase in players that we are anticipating and deliver them a Free to Play experience like none other."
For more information on Free to Play, visit http://www.lotro-europe.com/freetoplay
You can post your comments in this thread.
Last edited by Satine; 10-09-2010 at 03:00 PM.
Taken from: HERE!!!
Update
Hi folks,
Following our announcement on Wednesday regarding the delay of Free-to-Play in Europe, we can now provide you with a further update as to its status. It’s not good news I’m afraid. We are currently anticipating a delay of more than a week, potentially launching around the end of the month, and are still not in a position where we are able to confirm an exact date.
As you know, we were tracking a launch date of 10th September and up until recently thought this was still achievable; however, due to some major obstacles this date is simply not possible. Many of you have asked for a detailed explanation as to why this has come to be and why there wasn’t very much notice of the delay. Regarding the implementation challenges we talked about, the good news is that our Store and new servers are just about ready to roll, barring some final, live stress testing that needs to be performed.
We understand this is disappointing for you, more so because of our lack of communication in the earlier part of the week coupled with the last minute bad news. As the situation was changing literally from hour to hour, we weren’t in a position to tell you anything with any stability to it.
As we work to bring Free-to-Play to launch here, all eligible players will still continue to accrue loyalty rewards as per the rewards table on the website. We’re also laying on a bunch of your favourite live events on all servers starting next week and we’re introducing a community competition to allow you to take out your frustration on us and win some great prizes in doing so. We know this won’t substitute for the new Store and Enedwaith, but maybe it will make things a little more fun for you as you wait. Look out for announcements on all of these things within the next few days.
As always, thanks for your support and patience and a particular thank you to all of you who took the time to send us personal messages, those were awesome and really appreciated!
--------------------------------------------------------
THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE™ EUROPEAN FREE TO PLAY LAUNCH DELAYED
Codemasters Online today announces that the launch of The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) Free to Play Store and the latest content, Book 2; Ride of the Grey Company will now launch across Europe later than expected.
"We are really pleased with the performance of the game and excited about the response to Free to Play from our players.” said Mike Rowland, Producer of LOTRO. “Given the complexities and challenges faced in the preparation and implementation of the new store to work within our infrastructure, we feel more time is needed to deliver the high level of service our players have quite rightly come to expect. As a result, we have decided to delay launch to ensure that we can support the massive increase in players that we are anticipating and deliver them a Free to Play experience like none other."
For more information on Free to Play, visit http://www.lotro-europe.com/freetoplay
You can post your comments in this thread.
Last edited by Satine; 10-09-2010 at 03:00 PM.
Taken from: HERE!!!
