LOTRO free for lapsed players until Aug. 24, new subscriptions $10 per month

A quick note for those who have been jilted by Lord of the Rings Online: It's ready to take you back. Not only that, but all returning users can play the game for free until August 24. Players with lapsed accounts will also be able to enjoy the new content found in the "Scourge of Khazad-dum" expansion and receive 25 percent bonus experience. Once the free period expires, players can rejoin the MMO for ten bucks a month.

If you're new to the game, you can still sign up for $9.99 a month, so long as you purchase at least three months in advance before September 30. Not a bad deal, unless you have something else to keep you busy.

[Via Massively]

Source - LOTRO.com -- Welcome Back Week
Source - LOTRO.com -- Stay Cool in Middle-earth

Reader Comments (14)

Sorry LOTRO, you're fighting a losing battle. WoW is calling me back for just one more fix....that will last a good 6-8 months at least.

Is it too late to start playing WOW? I don't play PC games at all and I'm exclusively a console gamer. Now, after seeing all this hype surrounding WOW, I've been getting really curious about this game. If I'm not mistaken, there is a Mac version right? If yes, I was just wondering if it's too late to join the party with all the gazillion (made up word :P) expansion packs and whatnot.

If you're starting fresh then yeah you might as well jump in now, as they've done all sorts of things to make leveling to 60 easier than it was (and yes I'm pretty sure there's a mac version).

But since I've already seen the old, main WoW content way too many times, I think I'll wait for Cataclysm before I start over since everything's supposed to be new.

The problem I had whenever I rejoined with my old characters was catching up on everything I missed out on and all the changes that were made since I quit but since you're new you can just take it slow and gather all the info slowly.

Definitely check out the trial before you purchase anything. I have tried to get into WoW two different times and I think the the game is horrible....even though I know saying that will probably get some people fired up.

"play the game for free until August 24"? I hope you mean that people can sign up for a free month until Aug 24.

LOL I know, thats what, 2 days?

$9.99? That's a fantastic deal! I've gotten really, really into this game lately. I like it more than I ever liked WoW. Poor LOTRO doesn't get the credit it deserves because it lives in the shadow of an inferior game.

Hopefully this'll boost the sales of the game. It's been boring for me without being able to find someone my level to play with, and most of my friends refuse to play it because there's no private servers.

FFS, stop trolling the PC articles because you don't like the platform. Just because you're not interested, that doesn't mean that other people also aren't interested.

Uh - pardon my apparent confusion - but wasn't this game announced as going free-to-play?

Confusion indentified - that was D&D Online

Pay to play sucks, even if the game is good.

Excuse me while I play Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead, Counter Strike: Source, America's Army 3 (actually no because it's broken), or any of my online-capable PS3, 360, or DS games without having to pay again and again for something I already own.

Oh, so those DLC mappacks and such don't ever make you pay money? Because last I herd CoD:W@W map packs costed a pretty penny on PSN and Xbox Live.

Also, why even mention bringing up DS games? As someone who plays their DSi a lot I admit the fact the DS(i) has shitty online support for it's games. I mean, no random Wifi battles for the new Pokemons? Only 2 player support for Advanced Wars: Days of Ruin? And for the 360 you pay a monthly fee for ALL games. A monthly fee which is a dollar less then this promotion. Only console you mentioned that even stands a chance is the PSN. But with their constant delays, lack of players, and disconnects for random games it doesn't quite fancy so well.
However, TF2, L4D,CS:S, and America's Army are the only one's who are good examples.

Also, as an FYI, LOTRO has a life time subscription costs.

Umm, Xbox Live Gold account has a yearly fee, not monthly, and it's less expensive (works out to $5/month) and, like you said, for all games on the system. Compare that to most MMORPGs where you have to pay minimum $10 per month (most are $15), and if you want a fighting chance you need to pay even more in the form of microtransactions.

Of course, I'm not saying that these games are good, but I don't have $120+ per year to spend on a single game, AFTER having to pay for the game itself.

LOTRO free for lapsed players until Aug. 24, new subscriptions $10 per month

Reader Comments (14)

Posted: Aug 21st 2009 11:17PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Aug 22nd 2009 4:50AM Birth Canal said

Posted: Aug 22nd 2009 11:55AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Aug 22nd 2009 12:16PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Aug 21st 2009 11:28PM duggie said

Posted: Aug 22nd 2009 12:36AM Cheesus Crust said

Posted: Aug 21st 2009 11:48PM Jrinswand said

Posted: Aug 21st 2009 11:59PM The Aquacharger said

Posted: Aug 21st 2009 11:52PM Jrinswand said

Posted: Aug 22nd 2009 6:40AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Aug 22nd 2009 6:44AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Aug 22nd 2009 11:24AM Covarr said

Posted: Aug 22nd 2009 2:10PM The Aquacharger said

Posted: Aug 22nd 2009 2:20PM Covarr said

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