The Tourist : The Curious Case of Lord of the Rings Online

Lord of the Rings Online is one of the more well-known MMOs, even given its advancing age. The latest expansion has come out but is time running out on Turbine's license? In today's Tourist, we take a look at LOTRO and implications for the future. Read on before heading to the comments to join the discussion.

The lack of updates on this expansion was enough to make you wonder if this was coming out at all. Turbine seems to specialize in silence these days, so you might be forgiven for not knowing that LotRO license to the Tolkien-verse expires in 2014. When they announced this deal in 2008, they noted that there were “additional options to extend” until 2017 but there has been very little word on what that might mean. What’s more, The Tolkien Estate might not be inclined to agree to such an extension following a year of legal battles with parent-company, Warner Brothers. 

Lord of the Rings Online is one of the more well-known MMOs, even given its advancing age. The latest expansion has come out but is time running out on Turbine's license? In today's Tourist, we take a look at LOTRO and implications for the future. Read on before heading to the comments to join the discussion.

The lack of updates on this expansion was enough to make you wonder if this was coming out at all. Turbine seems to specialize in silence these days, so you might be forgiven for not knowing that LotRO license to the Tolkien-verse expires in 2014. When they announced this deal in 2008, they noted that there were “additional options to extend” until 2017 but there has been very little word on what that might mean. What’s more, The Tolkien Estate might not be inclined to agree to such an extension following a year of legal battles with parent-company, Warner Brothers.