Lord of the Rings Online
Genre: MMORPG | Developer: Standing Stone Games | Platform: PC | Release: April 24, 2007 | Model: Free2Play
What kind of game is this? I probably don’t need to introduce the MMORPG classic Lord of the Rings Online to anyone. For almost two decades, you can explore Middle-earth and immerse yourself in one of the most atmospheric worlds in the genre. But why does HdRO make it to this list?
The trailer for the HdRO expansion Morgoth’s Legacy from 2024:
That’s why I believe HdRO will be extremely exciting in 2025: If there is one criticism to be made about Standing Stone Games’ online role-playing game, it’s that it has aged technically significantly worse than, for example, the more than two years older World of Warcraft.
However, it is here that Lord of the Rings Online is expected to achieve noticeable improvements in the new year.
- In the first quarter of 2025, two new 64-bit servers for Europe are supposed to go live.
- Like the legendary server Mordor, these should also be located in the new EU data center. All old EU servers have been in New Jersey since 2016.
- Work has been ongoing for some time on further technical improvements such as 4K resolution and a more modern launcher. Since last year’s release did not happen, I’m pinning my hopes on this year. Spoiler: System improvements are planned for the third quarter of 2025, according to the roadmap (via lotro.com).
All these changes should provide a significantly improved gaming experience. Additionally, many fresh contents like raids, dungeons, or the Book of Deeds are planned for the coming months – all before the launch of the annual expansion, which is set to go live in Q4.
All of this sounds to me like it could be really worth visiting Middle-earth again. Especially since it will take years for Amazon Games to bring the new MMORPG to Lord of the Rings to launch. The last sign of life from the ambitious project dates back to August 2024.
