Athlon Games has announced that they are working on a new Free-to-Play MMO with the Lord of the Rings IP. The newly formed studio has partnered up with Middle-earth Enterprises, the company who is holding the license of the fantasy IP.
In a statement on parent-company Leyou’s website, Athlon Games announced their new project. It’s still very early days for the Lord of the Rings MMO, so there is absolutely no media in this announcement, but we do learn about the setting.
The unnamed Lord of the Rings MMO will take place in the world or Middle-earth but is going to be set a long time before the events of The Lord of the Rings. Sorry, no roleplaying as Bilbo. This does however enable the studio to portray a similar-feeling world of the giant fantasy franchise but show never-before-seen landscapes, characters, monsters and stories. Possibly good news for fans who have grown accustomed to the world of Middle-earth after six Hollywood movies.
Why has Athlon decided to work with the Lord of the Rings IP now however? Dave Miller, President of Athlon Games explains the company’s decision with a “resurgence of interest in The Lord of the Rings IP”. The last Hobbit movie released a long 4 years ago in cinemas, so it seems as if the recent success of games set in the Lord of the Rings universe might have been a deciding factor. Shadow of Mordor was a smash hit which came out shortly before the conclusion to the Hobbit movie trilogy and despite controversy around microtransactions, its sequel Shadow of War also became a success. Later even removed the controversial in-game purchases and just recently received a Definitive Edition including all DLC and game updates.
Athlon Games might not be known, as it was only launched this spring by Leyou. Leyou however does have valuable experience in the gaming industry as owner of Digital Extremes of Warframe fame and Splash Damage, multiplayer experts of Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory among other.
Stay tuned for more info about the Lord of the Rings MMO in the future.
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