Going Free-To-Play Triples Lord Of The Rings Online Revenue

[Seya]

Turbine's fantasy MMORPG has seen a 200% increase in income generated since going free-to-play with microtransactions last September. Like it or not, this is what the future looks like.

Speaking on a recent Ten-Ton-Hammer podcast, Turbine communications director Adam Mersky shared that tidbit along with a similarly impressive figure for another of the company's MMOs, Dungeons & Dragons Online. DDO came back from the brink of death when it was converted to a free-to-play model in 2009, with revenues growing 500% after the change.

The LOTRO figure is much more impressive, as that game had met with reasonable commercial success previously – DDO was a flop out of the gates, and 500% of very little still isn't much. Nonetheless, both numbers are fantastic news for Turbine, and the company deserves congratulations for adapting to the modern MMO marketplace instead of stubbornly clinging to a dying business model (well, dying for everyone who isn't Blizzard, anyway).

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[moshis]

fairly promising news, hopefully Age of Conan adopts this model.

[Jermatoo]

I'm not surprised, Turbine is problaby the one developer or publisher that knows how to get shit done right. :3

[Project]

Some company needs to think...wait..remember that one game? Tabula Rasa? Yea..let's bring that back.

I would be soooo happy.

[Seya]

they changed a lot of things with the free accounts ... when they first opened the servers there were limitations for armors and a few areas which you had to pay to got to those maps ... now they unlocked them and made all the armor Tiers available . Its really worth going back .

[Ketsuarikado]

Some company needs to think...wait..remember that one game? Tabula Rasa? Yea..let's bring that back.

I would be soooo happy.

You.... I love you.... I don't know who you are, or where you are... but know that you are loved xD

*waves Tabula Rasa dog tag about*

[Symce]

Some company needs to think...wait..remember that one game? Tabula Rasa? Yea..let's bring that back.

I would be soooo happy.

Seconded damnit, I miss those huge planets. Played the game in beta too, coulda been such a classic with a few adjustments (like the pay model)

[mevefmlx]

free trial that force people to buy to continue, free too play ^^

[BadpcGuy]

I don't like to call it F2P I prefer freemium they don't force you to pay to continue just takes longer.

[poeticas]

I want all games to go f2p with CS ... and i can play the ! GO GO turbine !

free trial that force people to buy to continue, free too play ^^

They don't force u to buy ... they ask if you want to play easier then buy ... and this way its alot better because game has larger player base and profit ... plus u don't need to pay every month just to play it ...

[Krunkmasta Flex]

scammers are different from ******s :P

[Xanadu]

Yet World of Warcraft's revenue, for example, is much better as a P2P.

[Arri]

Yet World of Warcraft's revenue, for example, is much better as a P2P.

Seeing as it's never been F2P, there is nothing to compare, at all.

[bonneau_14]

I would much rather pay a monthly price to have access to ALL the content in the game. I don't want to have to buy access to certain things monthly.

[thedudesam]

Good for them, really.

But what does this mean? does it mean people are tired with the P2P model? or that LOTRO was not good enough to stay P2P?
I personally thought the game was rather decent, but when i P2P'd it (EU), it was very very unpopulated.

[ASNZern]

I would much rather pay a monthly price to have access to ALL the content in the game. I don't want to have to buy access to certain things monthly.

......... If you pay monthly, then you get access to EVERYTHING in LOTRO.
But if you buy access to certain things instead, then they stay with the account for all eternity, not monthly.