Leyou Technologies is a Chinese corporation that holds large shares in the Warframe developer Digital Extremes, among other interests. In a “Voluntary Business Announcement”, the company has now announced that it wants to establish a new publishing brand called “Athlon”, and a Lord of the Rings MMO will be the first work.
MMO in the Lord of the Rings universe: According to Leyou’s announcement, Athlon Games intends to develop a Free2Play MMO as its first work. For this purpose, they have entered into a collaboration with Middle-Earth Enterprises, the rights holders to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and therefore to the entire Lord of the Rings franchise.
What we already know about the new Lord of the Rings game
Unfortunately, not much is yet known about the new Lord of the Rings MMO. However, the following information has emerged from the announcement by Leyou and the Athlon Games website:
What kind of game is it supposed to be? Athlon clearly stated that it specializes in Free2Play AAA titles for PC and consoles. So it probably won’t be a browser or mobile game.
Will the game have anything to do with Lord of the Rings Online? Nothing is known about that. However, the announcement did not mention any collaboration with the developers of Lord of the Rings Online.
What will the game be about? According to the announcement by Leyou and Athlon, the new Lord of the Rings game is set to play before the events of the books and films. Thus, you will work towards the epic occurrences later on. You will not be reenacting the plot of Tolkien’s works.
Player skepticism due to Free2Play and Chinese corporation
Many players are excited about the news of a new game from the world of the Lord of the Rings. However, some gamers are skeptical. On the MMORPG.com site, many critical voices can be heard, expressing doubts about the success of the new project.
These players find the focus of Athlon on Free2Play games problematic and are also concerned about the involvement of a Chinese conglomerate. On the other hand, Leyou is also associated with successful games like Warframe, which is widely regarded as a model example of fair Free2Play.
Also interesting: The classic Lord of the Rings Online continues in 2018:
