That’s right folks. The amazing transformation of Dungeon & Dragons Online to the free-to-play model is going to be replicated. Turbine (and its pair) is going to attempt to pull off the feat for a second time. The developer will be launching a huge update to Lord of the Rings Online “this fall” that will complete the metamorphosis. Interested parties will be able to partake in a beta program starting on June 16 (the second day of E3). Head over to the official site for details.
The upcoming LotRO Store appears to be a clone of the DDO Store:
LOTRO will introduce Turbine’s innovative new pricing model that allows players to download the game and play for free, purchase expansions, quest packs, items, and account services a la carte from the new LOTRO Store, or join the VIP program to get unlimited access to all of the game’s content for one low price.
Considering the DDO Store saved DDO, even dramatically increasing its subscriber base, the new LotRO Store is a no brainer. The transformation will be global.
No word on a name change.
And I have to ask, how pissed are the lifetime subscribers going to be?
“And I have to ask, how pissed are the lifetime subscribers going to be?”
I can only speak for myself, but as a lifetime subscriber I am not pissed by this news at all. (That does not mean I won’t be keeping an eye on how all this plays out, just that being lifetime is not one of the things that worries me.)
As a lifetime subscriber I had access to all the content for the expansions I’d purchased…not changing.
As a lifetime subscriber I did not have to pay a monthly fee…not changing.
What is changing is that I’ll now have 500 points to spend in the new store each month. The store itself and how content will be handled is a bit of an unknown, but I have been a fan of the DDO model and how it encourages creation of new content, so if Turbine takes the time to think out how to adapt properly for LotRO, this might be a good move.
As I said, I am still going to be watching the news and trying to get into the Beta. Turbine did consider the lifers in their plan, though, and that is an encouraging start.