Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar

Turbine open website and release first details about Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar.

The Middle-Earth: Online name change, as previously covered by us, now appears to be complete. Turbine has revealed the first details about Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, some of which are very telling.

It now appears that the game will be presented in installments, much like Guild Wars is. Jeffrey “Namárië” Steefel, the executive producer of Lord of the Rings Online, states that this is so the developers can have a more focused scope for the game. This could possibly be interpreted as him admitting that they took on a project too large when they attempted to create a virtual Middle-Earth.

The question of why Vivendi has distanced themselves from the project by allowing Turbine full control of the project also goes unanswered. Interestingly, this question is in the FAQ but it avoids an answer by stating that Vivendi themselves could answer it better. Turbine also state that they were the ones who first approached Vivendi with the proposal, presumably to quash rumours that Vivendi were not pleased with the progress of Middle-Earth: Online