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New Lord of the Rings F2P MMORPG to be develop & publish by Athlon Games & Middle-earth Enterprises

rocket

rocket

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,306
So apparent one of the first project announcements after the establishment of Athlon Games, a publishing arm of Leyou Tech will be a brand new F2P The Lord of the Rings MMORPG, partnering directly with Middle-earth Enterprises, owner of the exclusive worldwide rights to motion picture, merchandising, stage and other rights in certain literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien, including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

This seems to be a pretty big deal especially coming from a basically unknown developer/publisher.

Excerpts from official presser:

Athlon Games is partnering with Middle-earth Enterprises, to develop and publish a free-toplay massively multiplayer online video game based on The Lord of the Rings, the landmark fantasy literary work of J.R.R. Tolkien. Set in the world of Middle-earthTM during the years leading to the events of The Lord of the Rings, the game will provide Middle-earth fans throughout the world with a new, immersive game experience for epic exploration of the Tolkien universe.

Middle-earth Enterprises is a division of The Saul Zaentz Company with headquarters located in Berkeley, California. Middle-earth Enterprises owns exclusive worldwide rights to motion picture, merchandising, stage and other rights in certain literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien, including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Middle-earth Enterprises has been producing and licensing films, merchandise and stage productions based on these Tolkien works for more than forty years.

With our technical know-how and expertise in free-to-play game development and publishing, which has seen success with the Group's other game titles such as Warframe, the Board believes that the development and publishing of this new title based on The Lord of the Rings will help further the Group's goal of creating top quality console and PC games that have global appeal and expand the Group's footprint in the West.

source:
http://leyoutech.com.hk/athlon-games-inc

Reference:
https://www.resetera.com/threads/le...spearheaded-by-former-wbie-vp-director.29846/
https://www.resetera.com/threads/ch...n-f2p-model-with-western-developed-ips.44954/
 
Okabe

Okabe

Is Sometimes A Good Bean
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Aug 24, 2018
19,929
Ai5H4iR.jpg
 
adj_noun

adj_noun

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
17,216
Cant wait to go to the immersive rp server modded by Christopher Tolkien himself and immediately see Araporn the ranger hop by :D
 
Kaeden

Kaeden

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,905
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Surprised I'm not seeing anything about this on the LOTRO forums unless I've missed it. I've been playing that off and on since launch and I love the game. I hope this doesn't mean the end of that...
 

Deleted member 5864

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,725
Was thinking about LOTRO the other day. Pretty derivative all things considered, but amazing map to just explore.

RIP I guess...
 
NippleViking

NippleViking

Member
May 2, 2018
4,490
Please please please be good. I want a full Lord of the Rings renaissance, buoyed by the 'Shadow of --' games, the upcoming Amazon television series, and an amazing non-theme-park MMO. Even an MMO-lite like Destiny could be spectacular.
 

Pog

Banned
May 19, 2018
248
Nobody makes brand new big MMO projects anymore in 2018. Therefore this has to be a phone game.
 
Kaeden

Kaeden

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Oct 25, 2017
7,905
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texhnolyze said:
And it's already very outdated and barely alive. This is a much needed reboot. Though we need to see more before making a final judgement.
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Might be 'barely alive' when compared to something like WoW but the game and its community is still very much alive. Still a ton of people playing on Landroval. Fully healthy with no need to worry about the future? Yeah maybe not. But definitely not in maintenance mode or quickly coming to an end.
 
Ocean Bones

Ocean Bones

Avenger
Oct 29, 2017
4,725
LOTRO was an amazing game just to put on and take in the atmosphere, listen to the music and explore. Loved it.

If this has half the charm I'd be down.
 
Elven_Star

Elven_Star

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,966
I wish they left this poor franchise alone. It's over half a century later, everything has been tried, but nothing comes even close to the magic of the original books. If Hollywood's millions couldn't do it, I doubt this unknown developer has much of a chance.
 
Slime

Slime

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,971
If they kill LOTRO to make room for this...fuck

Ocean Bones said:
LOTRO was an amazing game just to put on and take in the atmosphere, listen to the music and explore. Loved it.

If this has half the charm I'd be down.
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Most MMOs I just shut my mind off and run from quest objective to quest objective, but I loved even doing shitty low-level fetch quests in LOTRO because it gave me an excuse to run around The Shire delivering pies and stuff. I loved even the most mundane things about that game. I hope they don't shut it down.
 
Ohto

Ohto

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
558
Slime said:
If they kill LOTRO to make room for this...fuck



Most MMOs I just shut my mind off and run from quest objective to quest objective, but I loved even doing shitty low-level fetch quests in LOTRO because it gave me an excuse to run around The Shire delivering pies and stuff. I loved even the most mundane things about that game. I hope they don't shut it down.
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Different companies...

LOtRO has been a lot better since they departed from Turbine, they have been able to add more content and polish the game. I believe they renewed their licence too at some point.

And since the new one will be set before the happenings in the book, I think the can co-exist. Hopefully.
 
traillaitor

traillaitor

Member
Jun 10, 2018
658
Very mixed on this. I played LOTRO since launch and fell in love with it, bought a lifetime subscription (£75!!) before it went F2P but I haven't played in over 4 years now.

When the first expansion, Mines of Moria, came out it was honestly one of my favourite gaming experiences. Such a beautiful world to explore and so much lore and history to get lost in.

Now, the game is showing its age. It all went downhill from when it went F2P and (IIRC) codemasters left it to Turbine.

I'm no sure any other company will be able to do Middle Earth justice like LOTRO does but I'd be curious to see what they try...
 
eloxx

eloxx

Member
Oct 30, 2017
173
bern, switzerland
This is a interesting announcement, except maybe for the F2P part. more daily lockboxes i'm guessing.

Other than that, I am interested what they can build with the world of LOTR. They have a real chance here to make something beautiful.
 
Loxley

Loxley

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,618
LOTRO is great but has become very dated, so I'm actually really looking forward to this.

Remember said:
Other than the fact that the previous MMO community is fine, this seems random because it's not like there is a recent surge of LoTR media out there to re-ignite interest in the brand.
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I mean, Amazon did just announce earlier this year that they're spending $1 billion on a 5-season, pre-LOTR TV series that's due out in 2020/2021 - which seems likely to be around when this game launches.
 
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Roshin

Roshin

Member
Oct 30, 2017
2,840
Sweden
texhnolyze said:
And it's already very outdated and barely alive. This is a much needed reboot. Though we need to see more before making a final judgement.
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I haven't played it in years, so I don't know the current state it's in.

Anyway, do we think this new game will tend towards LotRO, which was heavy on atmosphere and exploration, or do we think it will tend towards the "Shadow of..." games, with fast action and lewt boxes..? :D
 
OP
OP
rocket

rocket

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,306
Loxley said:
LOTRO is great but has become very dated, so I'm actually really looking forward to this.

I mean, Amazon did just announce earlier this year that they're spending $1 billion on a 5-season, pre-LOTR TV series that's due out in 2020/2021 - which seems likely to be around when this game launches.
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This seems to be the case especially in the presser they specifically said the game would about the events leading up to LotR. Game may very well be launched simultaneously with the TV series.
 
Nirolak

Nirolak

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,660
So uh, is Athlon a new branch of Leyou, or is one of their substudios making it?

Leyou is the company that owns Digital Extremes (Warframe) and Splash Damage (Gears of War).
 
OP
OP
rocket

rocket

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,306
Nirolak said:
So uh, is Athlon a new branch of Leyou, or is one of their substudios making it?

Leyou is the company that owns Digital Extremes (Warframe) and Splash Damage (Gears of War).
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AG is just the publishing arm of Leyou, AG by themselves AFAIK is not a game studio and won't be doing any development work. However, in addition to owning DE, Splash damage and have a stake in Certain Affinity, they also own games studios in China.

It is unclear which one of these owned studios will be developing it, however I am will to bet it won't be DE. Also it has been known for a while that SD and CA are working on some unannounced projects.
 
Nirolak

Nirolak

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,660
rocket said:
AG is just the publishing arm of Leyou, AG by themselves AFAIK is not a game studio and won't be doing any development work. However, in addition to owning DE, Splash damage and have a stake in Certain Affinity, they also own games studios in China.

It is unclear which one of these owned studios will be developing it, however I am will to bet it won't be DE. Also it has been known for a while that SD and CA are working on some unannounced projects.
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As far as I can remember:

Certain Affinity:
- Transformers Online
- That new IP they've previewed a couple times

Splash Damage:
- Gears of War Tactics
- 1 or 2 games with Wargaming (World of Tanks)
- Dirty Bomb support
- A new third person horror game

I'm not sure either actually has the capacity to make this.
 
OP
OP
rocket

rocket

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,306
Nirolak said:
As far as I can remember:

Certain Affinity:
- Transformers Online
- That new IP they've previewed a couple times

Splash Damage:
- Gears of War Tactics
- 1 or 2 games with Wargaming (World of Tanks)
- Dirty Bomb support
- A new third person horror game

I'm not sure either actually has the capacity to make this.
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I don't have the answer to that, and AFAIK Leyou don't own anything in China with a scale that can manage that either; I think DE is literally the largest studio they own and they are 100% on Warframe.

Here is a list of all Leyou tech subsidiaries as of Dec 31, 2017.

Vkhz2d3.png
 
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Tregard

Tregard

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,221
Always felt I massively missed the boat on LOTRO, so I'd definitely be down for this.

I remember the goofiest thing LOTRO had was a one-off lifetime subscription you could buy.
 
Nirolak

Nirolak

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,660
rocket said:
I don't have the answer to that, and AFAIK Leyou don't own anything in China with a scale that can manage that either; I think DE is literally the largest studio they own and they are 100% on Warframe.

Here is a list of all Leyou tech subsidiaries as of Dec 31, 2017.
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I'm suspicious they have a new, unannounced partner, though I'm not sure who it could be.
 
OP
OP
rocket

rocket

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,306
The Hollywood reporter managed to get a statement from Middle-earth Enterprises:

"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," said Fredrica Drotos, chief brand and licensing officer at Middle-earth Enterprises. "Athlon's game will allow millions of Middle-earth fans throughout the world a unique opportunity for fellowship and epic exploration."

source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/lord-rings-based-online-game-works-1139574
 
Masterspeed

Masterspeed

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Oct 25, 2017
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I frankly can't wait. My favourite part about LOTRO was just wondering the world. I spent most of my time doing all quests and other little things in The Shire because it was just so chill. I can't wait.
 

Deleted member 864

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
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I'm excited. I enjoyed my time with LOTRO, it was fun just exploring the world and taking in all of the sights and familiar locations.
 
Setzer

Setzer

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This better not mean the end of LOTRO. I'm all for a new Lord of the Rings MMO but I'll be pissed if they take LOTRO offline.
 

Daxa

Member
Jan 10, 2018
622
You know who else handed out free stuff with no strings attached?

Sauron.
 
Enthus

Enthus

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,582
Welp, time for me to start playing LOTRO again. It had been off my mind for years but this has sparked my interest in it again.
 
Loxley

Loxley

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Member
Oct 25, 2017
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SavageSquirtle91 said:
Doesn't WB own the Lord of the Rings license or am I mistaken?
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The entertainment rights for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are owned by Middle-Earth Enterprises, a division The Saul Zaentz Company - whom Tolkien sold the rights to in the late 1960s. WB has a license to create films, games, etc based on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, but The Lord of the Rings Online was developed and published before WB created their own games development division, so they ended up inheriting LOTRO from Vivendi once WB Games became a thing and Vivendi's license expired. WB managed to transition their license for LOTRO from Turbine to Standing Stone/Daybreak Games in 2017, so they must not have much of a problem with another studio developing an MMO based on the license.
 
JershJopstin

JershJopstin

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Oct 25, 2017
5,332
LOTRO might be one of the most surprisingly atmospheric games I've ever played. They really nailed that, if they faltered a bit in other areas. This game probably won't compare in that regard.

It's still fun to just go quest in an area solo. I think I only ever got to level 42 or so, but I was still having fun when I stopped. I believe I only did because the next area wasn't f2p yet.

They could use a better model for monetization, but last I checked they were still turning a profit. They better stick around.
 
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