A new Middle-earth MMORPG is coming to PC and consoles, even though Lord of the Rings Online is still alive and well, The new Lord Of The Rings MMO was announced by Leyou Technologies and will be published and partially developed by Athlon Games. Athlon will not be the sole developer of the project as it will also be working in tandem with a currently unknown partner developer. The project aims to “to create an engrossing new AAA experience” set in the world created by J.R.R. Tolkien. The press release adds that players will explore “lands, people and creatures never seen before by fans of the Tolkien universe.”
Additionally, the game will be set prior to the events of the famous novel series. The press release also hints at what the MMO’s business plan will be. It notes that both Leyou Technologies and Athlon Games have a “deep expertise with free-to-play game design and service” suggesting a free-to-play model for the AAA online game.
Details are slim to none at this point, but Dave Miller Presiden Of Athlon Games Said
“It’s a singular opportunity to work closely with Middle-earth Enterprises to create a completely new experience for fans of the landmark fantasy work of J.R.R. Tolkien, and we are excited about the resurgence of interest in The Lord of the Rings IP, This, along with several other major properties Athlon is working with, will help us to further our goal of creating AAA cooperative console and PC experiences that gamers will want to play for years to come.”
Fredrica Drotos, Chief Brand & Licensing Officer at Middle-earth Enterprises adds
“We are extremely pleased to work with Athlon Games to create a new, immersive game experience, exploring epic regions in Middle-earth during the years leading to the events of The Lord of the Rings, Athlon’s game will allow millions of Middle-earth fans throughout the world a unique opportunity for fellowship and epic exploration.”
If you haven’t heard of Athlon before, that’s because it’s a new subsidiary of Chinese publisher Leyou Technologies, the company that owns Warframe developer Digital Extremes as well as Splash Damage, the studio that most recently worked on the multiplayer for Gears of War 4. The Lord of the Rings will be Athlon’s first big project.
More news as we get it, I’ve also reached out to Standing Stone Game for any comments or statements they might wish to share, I’ll update this as soon as I hear back.
Story developing.
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Apparently, from an article I read elsewhere, there’s going to be no Men. “Miller said that the company’s game will focus on an era before Men came along” and “You won’t see human characters from The Lord of the Rings in our game,” Miller said. “I would not say it’s ‘First Age’ because that is more gods and monsters. I don’t want to say too much about our game yet.”
ok that´s nailed the death head for me then. Men came along in the first age. Sounds like a manga godzillaisque hack from Athlon