New F2P Middle-earth MMORPG Coming Soon For Console And PC

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. While waiting for its release, one can pass the time on other options such as those on guild games.

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.

LOTRO Poems #20

Hail Friends! Hope you are all doing well. Happy 11th Anniversary to The Lord of The Rings Online. It is a joy to see such a wonderful game based on Tolkiens lore still going strong. While raiding is fun but the mere fact that we can just log into a game and go visit Prancing Pony in Bree or go see the Tower of Isengard or witness the destruction of the Black Gate of Mordor or walk around in the streets of Minas Tirith, the places we have read about since our childhood come to life, it is truly amazing experience. Not to mention the bond of friendship and kinship we have developed through this game and the wonderful community of players, casual and hardcore. Here’s to many more years of LOTRO! Cheers!

Casual Raiders are going strong as ever before. We recently completed Tier 2 Challenge in Abyss of Mordath Boss 1 and 2. Last night we went for a nostalgia run in Tower of Orthanc T2C. That raid is always fun and brings back so many memories. One particular memory from that raid is when I invited Layanor of MMO Reporter to our raid and he streamed our raid and many failures and eventual triumph on Twitch.

This poem is a continuation of “Estel” series of poems. Last time we met Aragorn, the fellowship had a little reunion and the good guys won the Battle of Helms Deep. If you haven’t read the previous 10 parts, first of all what is wrong with you? OK just kidding! Secondly I highly encourage reading them before this poem, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9 and Part 10. Here is “Estel” part 11. Enjoy!

Estel (part 11)

We found a Palantir of old, Pippin’s curiosity overcame,
He held it in his hands and witnessed the White Tree aflame,

Then he got caught by Sauron and he beheld the Dark Lord,
Who tortured him for information, hurt him with his sword,

But the Hobbit was pure of heart and bold,
By chance he saw the enemies plan unfold,

A fire burnt in my heart, I must go to Minas Tirith to defend the White City, I said,
But Gandalf had another plan, I must tread the pathless paths of the dead,

With my companions on my side, I called the Oathbreakers,
Showed them the sword that was broken, the forsakers,

Promised them their freedom, the release from their bond,
We went to Pelargir, to fight the corsairs in quays of Harlond,

We took their ships, to head to the burning city,
We slew the Orcs and Easterlings without pity,

So came Aragorn son of Arathorn, heir of of Isuldur and of Elendil the tall,
With blood of Numenor in his veins and the glory of the men before the fall,

South rode Eomer with the Rohirim, east rode Imrahil and the knights of Dol Amroth,
There came Legolas and Gimli and Elladan and Elrohir and the Dunedain of the North,

We fought hard and all the enemies were slain,
It was time for me to heal our hurts and pain.

Hope you guys and girls and its enjoyed this weeks LOTRO Poem. Feel free to let me know in comments. If you want to feature your poem on LOTRO Poems my email is legendraiderx@gmail.com.

My Twitter: @dgenxali.

My blog: dgenxali.wordpress.com.

My Kinship on Brandywine: Casual Raiders.

Be good and have a wonderful day, Namarie!

The Lord of the Rings: Living Card Game Heading To Steam

Fantasy Flight Interactive has announced plans to produce a digital version of Fantasy Flight Games’ Living Card Game The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game on the Steam platform for PC next year as its first release.

The digital adaptation will use the same mechanics and cards as the tabletop version, with players forming teams of heroes and attempting to complete adventures set in the iconic fantasy world created by J.R.R. Tolkien. To play, players must construct a digital “deck” of cards depicting allies, events, and equipment cards that they can use during the game.

The initial release will only offer solitaire play and will launch as part of Steam’s Early Access program. Later in the year, the full free-to-play version will follow on Steam and will be expanded with support for cooperative two-player play.

This will be the first game from Fantasy Flight that does not require you to own/use the board game version, with the app. The new Lord of the Rings game will instead be a stand-alone experience that does not require or interact with the regular card game. In this way, Fantasy Flight is joining a growing trend in the industry for digital versions of popular hobby games.

Players in the digital implementation will still control three heroes with 30 card decks based on the four influence spheres – Leadership, Tactics, Spirit, and Lore.

The digital implementation of the game removes much of the maintenance work that players had to manage in the original version. In the new iteration of the game players focus on the Planning and Adventuring phases. The AI will handle playing cards from Sauron’s deck and the responsibilities enemies have in engaging heroes. Players will now get to focus on their own choices rather than game maintenance.

Each scenario includes instructions on win conditions, while all scenarios are lost if the three heroes die or the ever increasing threat level reaches the maximum.

You can wishlist the game on your steam now account HERE, After release players can purchase on the Founder’s Packs to access the full game experience. Founder’s Packs will include additional content, in game currency, and more.

This is will be the first release from the newly formed “Fantasy Flight Interactive“

Lord Of The Rings TV Show Officially Coming To Amazon Prime

We told you that Amazon wanted a LOTR TV Show, and Amazon always gets what it wants.

Amazon has officially given the green light Variety reports, to a new small screen series based on J.R.R. Tolkien‘s The Lord of the Rings. The new program will set its story before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring, taking viewers on Middle-earth adventures not yet seen on the TV screen.

The deal also includes a potential additional spin-off series. The series will be produced by Amazon Studios in cooperation with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line Cinema, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment.

“’The Lord of the Rings’ is a cultural phenomenon that has captured the imagination of generations of fans through literature and the big screen, We are honored to be working with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line on this exciting collaboration for television and are thrilled to be taking ‘The Lord of the Rings’ fans on a new epic journey in Middle Earth.” Sharon Tal Yguado, head of scripted series for Amazon Studios.

With the success of Game Of Thrones, this seemed like a no brainier that someone would attempt that type of epic set in the LOTR universe.

Amazon Has It’s “Eye” Set On Lord of the Rings TV Show

One TV show to rule them all?

Amazon is in talks with Warner Bros. Television to develop a new TV series based on The Lord of the Rings. The estate of J.R.R. Tolkien is also involved, after settling the lawsuit with Warner Bros. over a rights dispute, they two seem to be playing nice again.

Variety broke the news/rumor that Amazon is in talks with Warner Bros. Television and the Tolkien estate to adapt Lord of the Rings into a new series for Amazon.

Variety also says that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is personally involved with the project, which to my knowledge would be a first as Bezos doesn’t usually take such a hands-on approach to Amazon’s film and TV deals, but the CEO is apparently a big fan of fantasy and science-fiction.

There are no details on the project, so we can speculate on how it would work, and what works would be included? Could this be the way you finally see The Silmarillion hit the screen?

More details as we get it, but for now let’s dream and speculate on what want to see!