We've officially stopped keeping up with Lord of the RIngs Online, but the updates for the game just keep on coming, so we assume that someone out there is paying attention. So, we're going to do our part for the mysterious, silent fans by letting them know that the next free expansion for the game will arrive in June and will be called "Volume II: Book 8: Scourge of Khazad-dum."

... Wait, that's seriously the name? Jeez, no wonder we haven't kept up.

Another executive has leveled up to MMO developer Turbine. Following recent appointments of Ken Surdan as operations vice president in March and ex-Flagship guys Dave Brevik and Jeff Lind last October, former Glu Mobile exec Nate Jones has joined Turbine as the company's new VP of corporate and business development. In his new job, Jones will look after licensing partnerships, joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions for the company.

The position should be familiar to Jones, who previously served as Glu Mobile's vice prez of strategy and corporate development, a role which to our untrained ears sounds very much the same as his new duties at Turbine. Granted we're sometimes not up to speed on the latest corporate speak, so while this all sounds impressive in truth this could just be a fancy way of describing Jones' work as Turbine's newest sandwich artist. He picked a hell of a day to quit working at Glu.

A little over a month after rumors started swirling about an Xbox 360 version of Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online MMO, GameDaily has obtained images from an online survey suggesting the unannounced game could carry a monthly subscription fee. Specifically, the survey asked, "Assuming that you liked the content and theme of this Lord of the Rings MMO for the Xbox 360, how likely would you be to purchase the game for $59.99, plus pay a monthly subscription of $12.99?"

According to GameDaily's report, the survey also inquires as to what respondees believe would be reasonable real-money prices for various microtransaction items -- armor and weapons, additional areas, new classes, etc. -- from the game.

This development comes one week after Turbine's VP of Product Development, Craig Alexander, said the company is developing its games for consoles during the MIT Business in Gaming conference. When contacted regarding the survey, the company's director of public relations, Adam Mersky, replied, "Turbine has always been focused on the customer and one of the ways we do that is through extensive consumer research. We won't comment on this research or any of our future plans at this time." Mersky previously told Joystiq that Turbine would have something to show for consoles "by summer," with more news due in "a couple of months." That was April; E3 is in June ... a couple of months later. Coincidence? Survey says: "no."

There's a new sheriff in town at MMO factory Turbine. Well, sheriff is probably too strong of a word. How about deputy? Or, barring that, principal, maybe. Whatever the case, his name is Ken Surdan, and he's the dev's new VP of operations.

Surdan's duties will be many in the new role, from fostering customer relations to overseeing the global operations of each of Turbine's franchises, including The Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeons & Dragons Online and Asheron's Call. Now, looking over his resume, he doesn't have much -- well, okay any game industry experience. Still, the 15 year corporate vet has served in a number of high profile positions at such travel companies as TripAdvisor Media Network and National Leisure Group, making him the one to call on when execs want to get away ... even if he doesn't know his experience point from a platinum piece.

Joystiq's sister site Massively.com has all the news you'll need about MMOs. Here's the best, brightest, and most interesting stuff from the last week, all in one convenient place for your MMO minute.

	Massively's exclusive pre-launch Moria interview with Jeffrey Steefel Massively chats with Jeffrey Steefel, Executive Producer for Lord of the Rings Online the night before the release of LotRO's first expansion. Mines of Moria is now live, and from the sounds of things the servers and players are having a great time of it.
	Massively's ArenaNet interview: The past, present and future of Guild Wars PvP Massively catches up with ArenaNet Game Designer Isaiah "Izzy" Cartwright for a brief interview regarding the past, present and future state of PvP in Guild Wars. Follow along after the cut for the full interview and some exclusive PvP screenshots supplied to us by ArenaNet.
	Massively checks in on The Agency with Lead Designer Hal Milton Massively talks over the current state of The Agency's development with the animated and always-interesting lead designer Hal Milton. Hal shares with us a bit of insight into what they're currently working on, give us a few fun facts to chew on, and makes us actually look forward to next year's summer con season.

Joystiq's sister site Massively.com has all the news you'll need about MMOs. Here's the best, brightest, and most interesting stuff from the last week, all in one convenient place for your MMO minute.

	Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria launches! The official patch notes are up on the forums, and the servers went live at midnight with all the new content! We've collected up all of our best pieces of news and information on Turbine's latest ... check it out!
	EverQuest II: The Shadow Odyssey Launches! Massively has been following the expansion's lifecycle since it was announced at this year's SOE Fan Faire, and today we've put together the best of all our content touching on this brand-new chapter in the EQ2 saga. Read on for all the details!
	And the first World of Warcraft player to reach level 80 is... Nymh, Human Warlock of the EU server Drek'thar (and the real-world country of France) became the first World of Warcraft player to reach level 80.
	Further details emerge on the canceled Halo MMO Shacknews had the chance to speak with Ensemble director of technology Dave Pottinger, who had quite a bit to say about the Halo MMO. The biggest surprise revealed was that the game had gotten a green light and was in development for a good length of time before leadership changed at Microsoft, and the title was canceled.
	Cryptic may be porting Champions / Star Trek Online to the PS3 Cryptic Studios has shown their superhero game playing quite well on Microsoft's console at events all through the summer con season. Now it seems as though they're looking to bring those games to the PlayStation 3 as well.

Joystiq's sister site Massively.com has all the news you'll need about MMOs. Here's the best, brightest, and most interesting stuff from the last week, all in one convenient place for your MMO minute.

	Warhammer Online's party hits 750,000 players It seems like the forces of Order and Destruction have been busy recruiting, because Gamasutra is reporting that Warhammer Online is now partying hard at 750,000 subscribers strong.
	Champions Online announces Closed Beta signups Cryptic Studios has just announced that players can now sign up for a chance to participate in the first Closed Beta of their forthcoming superhero MMO, Champions Online, with the Beta beginning in mid-November 2008. Applications can be made at the official website. The Beta is for PC only.
	Mines of Moria gets a November 18th release date Mines of Moria, the first expansion for Lord of the Rings Online, has been given a release date of November 18th for both the NA and EU today. That means we're only about a month away from ten new levels, two new classes, legendary weapons, angry Balrogs and the under-mountain Dwarf kingdom of Khazad-dum.
	Massively in Metropolis: DC Universe Online goes beyond questing The folks at SOE Austin are looking to change the playing field fairly substantially with their superhero MMO title. In fact, in a number of ways they're looking to re-examine a lot of the basic elements we think of as part and parcel with the MMO package. One great example is the concept of questing.

While Flagship's maiden voyage may have ended up as splintered wreckage at the bottom of the massively multiplayer ocean, a pair of its former crew have found safe harbor at fellow MMO studio, Turbine. The Lord of the Rings Online developer announced that former Flagship execs Dave Brevik and Jeff Lind have joined the company, and will help spearhead a newly opened studio in Redwood City, CA.

The pair is joined by industry vet and former Sniper Studios president and CEO, Matt McKnight, who will serve as the new studio's Director, while Brevik and Lind will take on roles as creative director and engineering director respectively. We offer congratulations and best of luck to all three gentlemen, though we're particularly interested in seeing what Brevik does with his new position. Creative director marks a change from his previous role as Flagship's chief visionary officer, a wise course correction given that his foresight apparently stopped just short of predicting his former employer's impending doom.

Joystiq's sister site Massively.com has all the news you'll need about MMOs. Here's the best, brightest, and most interesting stuff from the last week, all in one convenient place for your MMO minute.

	The Digital Continuum: Rock Band, the MMO I've actually entertained the idea for a long time now, only to shove it aside as a crazy notion. But the thing kept popping back into the forefront of my mind so often that I couldn't discount it as happenstance. I've become enamored with the idea, because let's face it; a Rock Band MMO has the potential to ooze- no, to gush pure liquid awesome.
	Massively's exclusive Mines of Moria dev tour Earlier last month, Massively was invited to get a hands-on look at Mines of Moria, the first-ever expansion for Lord of the Rings Online with Turbine's Adam Mersky and Moria Producer Mike Jablonn. During this special dev tour, we were treated to many of the features of the new environments, new creatures, certain landmarks and the Legendary Item system.
	Is LotRO coming to the console? According to a job posting on Turbine's website, they're looking to hire a Senior User Interface Engineer who "may be refactoring existing user interfaces or implementing completely new user interfaces for systems such as combat, skills, inventory, treasure, and social systems." Does this mean LotRO?

Half-confirming earlier rumblings, Turbine has gone on record to state that they are actively developing a console-based MMO. It's not known at this time whether the title is, as rumored, a cross-platform console adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings Online, or whether it is an entirely new title.

According to Turbine Communications Director Adam Mersky, the company intends to fill 100 new positions in 2008, with 60 slots already filled thus far this year. A significant investment from media giant Time Warner is largely the cause of this sudden growth, which proves promising for the MMO developer.

[Via Gamasutra]

[Via Massively]

Good news for fans of the under-appreciated Lord of the Rings Online today: Executive producer Jeffrey Steefel has announced that the game's first expansion pack, The Mines of Moria, will be coming to your PC by the end of the year. Well, maybe not your PC. But you probably knows someone who plays it, right?

What's new? Well, the level cap's being raised from 50 to 60, so that's ... higher. Also you've got two new classes (the Warden and Runekeeper) and look for a brand new 'legendary' loot system, which will allow your items to evolve with a character as they're used. If you're choking on your Lembas bread with excitement, you might be able to track down some more details at this teaser site.

[Via Massively]