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Lord of The Rings Online: Remastered

Daybreak Games announces a significant technical and graphics update for the 14-year-old MMO.

By Saelanna Tue 26 Jan, 2021 3:51 PM
Coinciding with Amazon’s hotly anticipated $500m TV series set in Tolkien’s Middle Earth, Daybreak Games, formerly Sony Online Entertainment and the current publisher and rights holder for Lord of The Rings Online, recently announced that the long-standing MMO will be getting a significant update by 2022. According to the presentation given in December 2020 to its investors by Enad Global 7,LoTR%201 the Swedish games conglomerate, Daybreak Games is planning “visual and technical updates” for LoTRO so the game will be looking fresh following the release of the Amazon series; perhaps in the hope that it will be reaching a whole new legion of fans. The update announcement also alluded to next generation consoles so it looks as though the game will finally be making its way onto those platforms (PS5 and Xbox Series X/S).LoTR%202

The subject of who owns the publishing and licensing rights for LoTRO has, for some inexplicable reason, been something of a mystery for a few years now. While there were rumours that Daybreak Games were now in the driving seat over at Standing Stone Games nothing has ever been officially announced. When EG7 declared that they had acquired Daybreak Games in December 2020, the mystery was finally laid to rest. It was also announced that Daybreak had, in fact, obtained the publishing and licensing rights for SSG’s titles LoTRO and Dungeons & Dragons Online, both relative veterans on the MMO market. No explanation for the communications black out was forthcoming.

To some, it may seem strange to start investing significant time and money into a game that is fast approaching its 14th anniversary; but if you look at the numbers involved, perhaps it will seem less so. It is currently Daybreak’s third biggest title (behind DC Universe Online and PlanetSide 2) with 108,000 monthly active users, 41,000 of whom are paying subscribers bringing in approximately $9.9m per annum. Plus, when you factor in the possibility of new-to-the-franchise fans (thanks to the TV series) looking for a gaming fix based in Middle Earth, bringing the aging MMO up to date makes serious commercial sense.LOTRO%203

Interestingly, there is also another [unrelated] Middle Earth based MMO being developed by the Amazon Games Studios; the fact that it is Free-to-Play and that it is set a couple of hundred years before the events in LoTRO are all that we know about that title at the present time. There is also the platform-based ‘The Lord of The Rings: Gollum’ scheduled to release on PC and next-gen consoles sometime this year. So, there is a lot for Tolkien fans and gamers to look forward to. Personally, as a 14-year on-and-off veteran, I will be sticking with LoTRO for the foreseeable future and it gives me hope that the publishers are willing to invest in updating the game.

LoTRO, it appears, is here to stay. For a while at least.


Do you have plans on picking up the Lord of The Rings Online? Have you played before and plan on coming back? Let us know what you think in the comments below.


WRITTEN BY: Saelanna
EDITED BY: Silek
13 Comments
Tue 26 Jan, 2021 4:21 PM
I've never played this game before, and that says a lot given how much of a giga-nerd I am for Tolkien's world. I really want to get into this game, I just need to find the time to do so. Who knows, maybe I join one of the LotRO events Smile
Tue 26 Jan, 2021 5:04 PM
I've never played this game before, and that says a lot given how much of a giga-nerd I am for Tolkien's world. I really want to get into this game, I just need to find the time to do so. Who knows, maybe I join one of the LotRO events Smile
You would be more than welcome! Smile

giphy
Tue 26 Jan, 2021 5:06 PM
Kind of surprised it is getting remastered. With how small the player base is, I would've figured it would be wrapping up. A remaster almost suggest it is here to stay for 5 more years after 2022.
Tue 26 Jan, 2021 5:22 PM
How far into remaster is the question most of us that play it. For them to do what most have been requesting would require a massive amount of work. New game engine which will probably break a lot of systems lotro has in place. As well going console eesh that going to be quite the change to a lot of systems. Know how each classes works and how many skills each have putting that on console going be bit weird to me. We'll see. Though I'm not entirely happy with SSG atm I hope it succeeds in what it wants to accomplish.
Wed 27 Jan, 2021 1:01 PM
Been awhile I heard 'Daybreak Games'. I used to play the game DC Universe Online by SOE and then they took over.

I've watched LOTRO movies mainly because my sister is into the books and movies. Maybe someday I will give it a shot just amongst us UFP people! I definitely do love the guild name you came up for it! Big Grin
Wed 27 Jan, 2021 2:23 PM
I still play LotRO on and off and it's one of the most epic games I've played so far. I love that they are considering a remake (performance of the game is sadly... lackluster even on a potent modern machine) and I will probably continue to hop in and out of the game. My rune-keeper needs to zap stuff, after all!
Wed 27 Jan, 2021 5:51 PM
Yay new stuff for LotRO! It still looks good even for it's age, but agreed Sunfire that the performance is dire. It's not helped by the fact that all servers are hosted in the US, meaning pings sub-100 for us Europeans are typical.

Despite my dipping out and back in again, it's a great MMO if you're interested in story and fantasy worlds. It's also much better if you're playing in a group, but still works solo.
Wed 27 Jan, 2021 6:03 PM
Yay new stuff for LotRO! It still looks good even for it's age, but agreed Sunfire that the performance is dire. It's not helped by the fact that all servers are hosted in the US, meaning pings sub-100 for us Europeans are typical. .
Don't mention the ping, my PTSD is acting up again! Big Grin
I main a lightning RK, which is obviously very fast-paced, and it suuuuuuuuucks (sometimes) Wink
Wed 27 Jan, 2021 10:40 PM
I haven't played in forever on it. I missed out unfortunately when there was still a lifetime thing to buy so my interest in playing it had waned and most of my friends left it. Will say it seems fun to play still.
Fri 29 Jan, 2021 6:03 PM
I have liked this game but my biggest problem with it is that it does not scale with a 4K monitor. The UI does not scale up and all the text boxes for inventory and the such are too small to read. I have tried to change some of the in game settings but they don't work too well. I have even tried some out of game work arounds but they are cumbersome to implement. Other games such as WoW, SWTOR, and FF14 scale up very well.

Maybe this remaster with help in this regard and i would consider it again
Fri 19 Feb, 2021 5:12 PM
Interessting game, might try it.
Sat 28 Jan, 2023 4:45 PM
Deleted by Sul-Matuul - bot account.
Mon 30 Jan, 2023 3:26 AM
I had maxed out characters way back, but I left for a good while when they started the lotro coin stuff long ago. But every game out there want your money now, and LotRO isn't especially greedy, so I started playing again. I'm in a Australian kin, if anyone's on that sort of schedule, let me know and I'll get you contact info

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