After switching Lord of the Rings Online to be free-to-play, Turbine Entertainment was delightedly surprised to find its revenues triple and their active players count continue to rise sharply.
During an interview with TenTonHammer podcast, Turbine Director of Communications Adam Mersky revealed that LotRO revenues increased by 500% shortly after switching to the free-to-play model and that they are making now almost 3 times as much as they used to when the game was subscription based.
In the same podcast, Executive Producer Kate Paiz also noted that the game is "getting so many new players in and the world feels alive and vibrant."
"This really echoes a lot of what we've seen throughout the entertainment industry in general," she continued. "It's really about letting players make their choices about how they play. People are like 'I own my choices. You give me the power and I'll decide if you're cool enough for me.'"
Before switching to the free-to-play model last September, Lord of the Rings Online's disc sold for $50 and players had to pay a monthly subscription of $15.
