Warner Bros. Entertainment and Turbine have announced that they’re making its massively multiplayer online title, The Lord of the Rings Online, free to play.
The free to play program will launch this fall, and will allow players to download the game and play for free, but then purchase expansions, quest packs, items and other service “a la carte” from a brand new LOTRO Store. Additionally, players can joint a VIP program to get unlimited access to all of the game’s content (including priority server access, 5 character slots, a share bank slot, and monthly points to spend in the store) for one, yet-to-be-announced, price.
Turbine will be launching a beta of the new free-to-play LOTRO on June 16; you can sign up now for a chance to participate.
There are a few reasons I don’t play MMOs, and one of them is shelling out the monthly fee. The other, however, is simply finding the time to play. My hesitance to drop money each month is linked to my second point; hopping in to give a “retail quality” MMO a try for free is tempting, to be sure. With that in mind, I just may give it shot — how about you?
