‘Subscription MMO’s not dying’ claims LOTRO exec

Subscription-based MMOs are not dying, claims former Lord of the Rings Online exec Adam Mersky.

Speaking to Eurogamer, the ex-Turbine exec Mersky, now at parent company Warner Bros as director, said games in the genre that are insistent one method of payment would be the ones that struggle.

"People now in the West expect to have full control over their entertainment dollar and spend it the way they want to," he said.

"It’s probably not right to say the subscription MMO is dying, it’s probably more right to say the idea of forcing a player to only have one option for having to consume your content – that’s probably dying."

Fantasy MMO LOTRO was originally released as a subscription-based title in 2007, but in 2010 developer Turbine adopted the now popular free-to-play model.

The move helped the studio turn in more revenue for the game, one that has now been mimicked by numerous studios over the last two years, with Star Trek Online and EverQuest the latest MMO’s to go free.

"If we were going to release another MMO, we would not come out and – from my perception – launch it as a subscription game,” added Turbine and Dungeons and Dragons Online producer Erik Boyer.

“The right choice would be to make it a player-choice of subscription or free-to-play.”