LOTRO free-to-play relaunch delayed
Tolkien its time.
The European free-to-play relaunch of The Lord of the Rings Online has been delayed so that Codemasters can better prepare for the anticipated "massive increase" in players.
Book 2: Ride of the Grey Company and the Free to Play Store will now be available "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 Rowland. "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."
Lord of the Rings Online will offer three free-to-play tiers: VIP, Premium and Free. The differences between them are highlighted on the official website. The LOTRO Free to Play Store will be available in-game and stock around 2500 items from clothing and emotes to game expansions and extra character slots.
Book 2: Ride of the Grey Company is a significant update to LOTRO. It opens Skirmishes at level 20, revamps character creation, adds a separate cosmetic items storage and much, much more. The full patch notes can be found on the official website.