Welp, didn’t see this one coming.
Turbine has just announced that it’s spinning off the Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online teams into a new studio called Standing Stone Games, which will use none other than Daybreak to publish around the world. Here’s the whole thing:
Today we have some momentus news! The game teams responsible for The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) and Dungeons & Dragons Online (DDO) are now moving from Turbine to Standing Stone Games, a newly formed indie game studio. In addition, we’ve partnered with Daybreak Games to provide global publishing services. They’ve had a long, successful history developing and publishing MMOs, and we’re happy to lean on their expertise.
With the announcement out of the way, I wanted to talk to you about what all this means.
We’re embarking on an exciting adventure as Standing Stone Games, a newly-independent studio staffed by people who have been working on DDO and LOTRO for many years. The teams remain very much committed to both games and are thrilled to continue development and operations of these games as an independent studio. This is an opportunity for us to bring about our dreams while still working on two of the biggest licenses in video games. It’s a huge honor, and for you this means your games will continue to grow and improve. We love to focus on games with a high level of depth and scope, and we can’t wait to show you what the future brings.
Although a great many exciting things are happening on our end, you’ll be able to continue playing the game(s) you enjoy with as little interruption as possible. Our development continues on track, and the plans we have already announced remain firmly in our future view. Again, although we are a new studio, we are also the same developers who have been and will continue to work on our games.
Our success has always been possible because of your support. As we move forward, this is more important than ever. The ultimate goal of our new studio is to continue to bring you amazing experiences. We are excited for the future, and we’re thrilled to have you with us on this journey.
Here’s to great games, epic adventures, and memorable times with friends!
The official FAQ says that it’s “business as usual” for the dev teams. “Turbine will no longer be involved in the development of LOTRO and DDO.” It appears that very little is changing on the player end; the games will continue on with their existing data centers, business models, account system, and so forth.
“We are extremely excited by this transition into an independent studio, and we can’t wait to work on the game long into the future,” says the LOTRO team. “Daybreak Game Company’s role as publisher for LOTRO and DDO should have no impact on any existing Daybreak games.”
We have reached out to Turbine for clarification on a number of questions, including Asheron’s Call. We’ll update you all when we have answers!
