LotRO's Jeffrey Steefel looks beyond Mines of Moria
by Shawn Schuster 
Sep 26th 2008 at 5:00PM
Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Business models, Expansions, Interviews, MMO industry, Academic
First, Steefel mentions the fact that they're aiming to release another expansion this time next year, and that there will be several new books released between now and then. While this has been discussed before, he mentions the act that these books will all take place in and around Lothlorien. Does this mean we may see the next expansion focusing on Rohan? Oh, wouldn't that be amazing.
Later in the Strategy Informer interview, Steefel mentions the fact that he's been in the business for 15 or 16 years, and this is best gig he's ever had. Not only that, he says they're expanding all over the place, which should keep him busy from now "right through to 2017". If you've ever had any question on the longevity of this game, that should quench your curiosity a bit.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
rulez said on 5:09PM 9-26-2008
Lotro is fun. The mix of solo and group quests is awesome. If only they would tune the LFF tool and chat system a bit and add more raid content. :)
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Mythic said on 6:21PM 9-26-2008
I suspect they will choose to release an expansion that mirrors the path taken in the Hobbit for the next big expansion instead of Rohan. This would make for an obvious tie-in with the upcoming Hobbit movie!
Visiting Smaug's mountain, and touring the other areas would be great fun. I am sure a missed egg will have hatched into a Smaugling raid boss too...
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Vrain said on 7:22PM 9-26-2008
When they get to Erebor and Lake Town my account will have to be reactivated, although Rohan and Gondor would be a pretty strong pull too.
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Tony said on 7:49PM 9-26-2008
It would be neat if they did some session quests based upon the Hobbit, if nothing else.
I'm honestly not sure if that book is covered under the license they have though...
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RogueJedi86 said on 10:17PM 9-26-2008
Most of the early Dwarf and Elf quests in Ered Luin seem to be based on The Hobbit, so doesn't that mean they do have the license?
Tony said on 12:19AM 9-27-2008
You're right there, actually. I've always been confused about this since they say their license is from SCZ... and I confuse what they own and what Christopher Tolkien owns.
Tolkien Enterprises is a trading name for Saul Zaentz Company (aka SCZ) and they own the rights to both the Hobbit and LotR. I'm not sure if Turbine's agreement with them covers the Hobbit per se, but I'd be surprised if they'd not be open to the idea if not.
That would be cool.
John said on 1:40PM 9-29-2008
Yes,
Turbine has the licenses for both LotR and the Hobbit.
http://www.massively.com/2008/02/20/lots-more-lotro-to-come-turbine-extends-lotr-license/
rulez said on 9:01PM 9-26-2008
Shouldn't further expansions and books follow the fellowship of the ring like it is now though?
After Lothlorien to Rohan then Gondor seems most likely to me. But then maybe that would be too predictable. :P
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RogueJedi86 said on 10:16PM 9-26-2008
Wouldn't the next expansion go to the Emyn Muil? It would at least need to be the next one with Rohan. I assume Lothlorien is covered in MoM, but is Mirkwood too? Once they hit Emyn Muil, do they also open up access to the Dead Marshes too? There's a lot they can do from there.
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Tony said on 12:21AM 9-27-2008
Lothlorien is in the game. Mirkwood isn't, although they do have it on the new overworld map now. Turbine is doing normal book updates as well, like they have all along... maybe Mirkwood could be one of those as opposed to part of a future paid expansion?
Really, all of the cool places in the book (in my opinion) are from Moria on. I'm looking forward to seeing how they realize a lot of these areas.
And it's nice to see more than 2 people commenting on LotRO entries here :)
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Dudar said on 7:59AM 9-27-2008
How's the monster play these days?
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