Amazon Video games is taking one other crack at a Lord of the Rings MMO (opens in new tab), it revealed on Monday. The information that it’s going to concentrate on the interval lined by the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit places it in direct competitors with the established Lord of the Rings On-line MMO, nonetheless, and developer Standing Stone Video games has been making an attempt to reassure its group that it is not in hassle.
Lord of the Rings On-line has been kicking round for 16 years and continues to be up to date, at the same time as so lots of its former MMO friends have fallen by the wayside. However the information of a rival with extraordinarily deep pockets has left some gamers questioning what the longer term holds for the basic free-to-play MMO.
Noticed by Gamespot (opens in new tab), Standing Stone has responded to its group with a quick discussion board put up (opens in new tab). “We needed to present everybody locally an replace and guarantee you all that LOTRO shouldn’t be going away,” it reads. “Such as you, we, and our companions at Center-earth Enterprises are big followers of LOTRO. It’s beloved, it’s sixteen, it’s evergreen. LOTRO is just like the long-lived Ents, Elves and Dwarves; and we mere mortals, are the stewards of LOTRO and its group. Standing Stone has each intention of rising and supporting this group. The street goes ever on…”
Whereas Standing Stone’s assertion focuses on its MMO and would not sling any mud, Amazon Video games VP Christoph Hartmann takes some swipes—albeit diplomatic ones—at its rival in a Gamesindustry.biz interview (opens in new tab). “I believe they really can co-exist. Even the most certainly situation is… for folks simply to maneuver over, as a result of the opposite one is an previous sport. It isn’t a foul sport, however the business strikes on in some unspecified time in the future, and it is a very long time from their launch to ours.”
Hartmann additionally claims that the 2 MMOs will probably be “worlds aside” and that, whereas LOTRO’s fanbase is “devoted”, it is “not big”.
Whereas Amazon is being a bit extra aggressive right here, Hartmann might be proper. Should you’re a Lord of the Rings fan and MMO participant, why would not you take a look at the brand new Lord of the Rings MMO? And Amazon has already proven how hungry individuals are for brand new MMOs, attracting hundreds of thousands of gamers to New World at launch (opens in new tab), which did not have a significant fantasy licence backing it up.
I do not assume that essentially means LOTRO goes to fade. The MMOs which have managed to stay round regardless of the style’s decline—video games like EVE On-line, Star Wars: The Outdated Republic and Star Trek On-line—have proven themselves to be extraordinarily resilient and adaptable, and cater to gamers who deal with these areas like a second dwelling. Veteran gamers have invested lots into these video games, and even when they do hop on over to the recent new MMO, that does not imply they will be leaving their previous stomping grounds for good.
We additionally do not know when Amazon’s MMO will truly seem, or if it would even make it to launch. Amazon’s loved some main successes, however has additionally skilled a number of failures and cancellations. The long run, then, is a bit murky.
