Some games require only a very minimalistic UI while others, like MMOs, require a more complicated UI to provide players with the large amount of information vital to their gameplay. The Lord of the Rings Online™ has quite a bit going on behind the scenes. Read more in the latest Developer Diary from Narrel!

Using the LOTRO Store is quick, easy, and fun! Whether you’re looking for something practical (like a potion) or something to spice up your day, buying from the LOTRO Store is as easy as a click of your mouse! Read more about the LOTRO Store in today’s content update!

Book 2 is almost here, so let's talk about crafting! This update brings improvements for two more crafting professions, revisions to many older reputation recipes, a bunch of new class item recipes for Tailors, and updates for crafted Athelas Essence and Celebrant Salve potions made by Scholars. Read more in The Crafting Revision Developer Diary !

Volume III, Book 2 will address two main issues with the Captain class. Today we will discuss the changes to Captain Standards and to the Leader of Men and Lead the Charge Trait Sets. Read more in the latest Developer Diary from Ken "Graalx2" Burd!

For Volume III Book 2 we decided to convert the bank to the same system the current Shared Account Storage uses. Let me briefly go over the key features of the Shared Account Storage, which have been incorporated wholesale into the new vault. Read more in Ransroth’s latest Dev Diary !

Volume III, Book 2 will introduce the Wardrobe System, a system guaranteed to take your hoarding habit to the next level. Read more about the Wardrobe System in the latest Developer Diary from Elliot “Avon” Gilman!

Turbine Entertainment released another promo shot in time for Gamescon 2010, where they are showing off the new F2P version of Lord of the Rings...

It’s that time again, time for another edition of Quest Notes, your up-to-the-minute source for the latest and greatest news about quests in general and the Epic storyline in specific. Today’s topics include a sneak peek at Book 2 of Volume III, a behind-the-scenes look at some of the new tech and new content that you’ll be seeing there, and the unveiling of a popular feature from the Suggestions forum. So let’s peer into the near future and see what awaits our heroes! Read more from the latest Dev Diary from Jeff “MadeOfLions” Libby !

“Hey everybody. This is Joe “jwbarry” and in this, the final entry in our series of Dev Diaries about Scaling Instances, we’ll give details about the upgrades and changes to the Great Barrow, a quick summary, and then a list of everything you can find in the new Instance Join feature. “Read more from the latest Dev Diary from Joe “jwbarry” Barry !

WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE™ WILL BE FREE TO PLAY STARTING SEPTEMBER 10, 2010 Turbine and Codemasters to Release Free-to-Play Version of Award-winning Online Game Across North America and Europe WESTWOOD, MA – August 18, 2010 – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced today that Turbine’s The Lord of the Rings Online™ (LOTRO) will introduce its innovative new pricing model, allowing players to download the game and play for free and purchase expansions, quest packs, items, and account services a la carte from the new LOTRO Store starting September 10, 2010. Extending its award-winning story, LOTRO delivers the ultimate adventure featuring the massive world of Middle-earth brought to life through state-of-the-art graphics and gameplay, and a rich set of features that until now could only be found in premium subscription-based online games. “Our LOTRO beta program has been a huge success and we want to thank all of our players who worked with us to get the game ready for launch,” said Kate Paiz, Executive Producer of LOTRO, Turbine. “Our unique pricing model has revolutionized the industry and starting in September, players will be able to choose how they pay for and play one of the world’s best online games and we can’t wait to welcome millions of new players to Middle-earth!” LOTRO will offer players unlimited choice! Free means Free! – Players will download LOTRO by visiting www.lotro-europe.com and join with millions of other adventurers as they explore the most complete and authentic recreation of Middle-earth ever created and participate in LOTRO’s award-winning epic story up to level 50 for free. Visit the new LOTRO Store! -- The LOTRO Store is loaded with thousands of convenience items as well as expansion packs, premium content, additional character slots, potions, character customization and more! The LOTRO Store is seamlessly integrated into the game and lets the player identify new and exciting ways... [read more]

“Hey everybody! This is Joe “jwbarry” and in this, the fourth of a series of Dev Diaries about our new Scaling Instance systems, I’m going to be talking about Helegrod and all of the changes and upgrades it experienced and a lot of the reasoning behind why.” Read more in the latest Developer Diary from Joe “jwbarry” Barry !

We're going to be giving away keys to the LOTRO Free-to-Play Beta to a number of lucky winners over the next several weeks. To enter and potentially win one of this week’s keys, simply answer this week's question below and send your entries into lotrocompetition@codemasters.com with the title "The Great Beta Key Giveaway". Entries for this week's question must be received by 11.59pm UK time (GMT+1) on Sunday 15th August. Who does Frodo introduce himself as when he firsts meets Barliman Butterbur? A: Took B: Underhill C: Baggins Good luck! Please remember to include the following information with your submission: Name: Email: Your Character Name: Date of Birth: Country: I accept the terms and conditions of this Contest: YES Terms and conditions

Hey everybody! This is Joe “jwbarry” and in this, the third of a series of Dev Diaries about our new Scaling Instance systems, I’ll be talking about the Annúminas and Eregion instances and details of the changes and upgrades that were implemented. Read more in the latest Developer Diary from Joe “jwbarry” Barry!

We're going to be giving away keys to the LOTRO Free-to-Play Beta to a number of lucky winners over the next several weeks. To enter and potentially win one of this week’s keys, simply answer this week's question below and send your entries into lotrocompetition@codemasters.com with the title "The Great Beta Key Giveaway". Entries for this week's question must be received by 11.59pm UK time (GMT+1) on Sunday 8th August. How many rings were given to the Mortal Men doomed to die? A: 9 B: 7 C: 3 Good luck! Terms and conditions Please remember to include the following information with your submission: Name: Email: Your Character Name: Date of Birth: Country: I accept the terms and conditions of this Contest: YES

Are your fingers itching because it´s been a while since you shot your last elf? Is your tongue thirsting for a Hobbit´s blood instead of dirty water? When was the last time something tasty ran into one of your nets? Yes, you´re bored and your tension is rising, it´s time to make use of your excessive energy, it´s time for Creeps Duels! If you want to prove that you´re still cunning enough to fight in the front rows of the dark army sign up for our Creeps Duels and fight against others just like you! If you can fight the darkest of the dark then you are ready to face the real enemy! The contest will run throughout the Summer of War until the mightiest and most fearsome creep for each server has been found. There will be prizes for the winner of every duel and the Tribe of the overall winner for each server will receive a spot in the Monster Hall of Fame . For the full rules of the contest, visit this link . If you are longing for blood and fame, here’s the opportunity you have been waiting for!

Our good friends over at Turbine Entertainment recently released a dozen or so new promo shots just in time for ComicCon 2010 for the upcoming...

From 18th to 22nd August, 2010 the Codemasters Online Team will be attending this year´s GamesCom in Cologne, Germany. Together with Turbine we will be presenting LOTRO Free-To-Play to our European audience. Everyone who signs up for LOTRO Free-To-Play at our booth at GamesCom will receive a special reward of LOTRO store Points worth 10 €! To sign up and claim your free Points, visit us in hall 8.1, booth A31. For further information on GamesCom visit their website . We look forward to meeting you there!

Hey everybody. This is Joe “jwbarry” and in this, the second in a series of Dev Diaries about our new Scaling Instance systems, I’m going to be talking about the structure of the rewards system, what you can get from playing Scaling Instances, stat tracking, and the quality bar. Read more in the latest Developer Diary from Joe “jwbarry” Barry!

Running a Beta Program can be a tricky thing; everyone who isn’t in the beta wants to know what’s going on, but due to NDA restrictions no one in the program can tell them. So how do you let players talk about what they’re seeing, without violating their NDA? The answer is the LOTRO Beta Journal Project! Each week, we’ll ask Beta participants to submit their personal “Beta Journal” on a given topic. We’ll then take a sampling of those responses and post them for the entire LOTRO Community to read. This week, we’re giving you the initial reactions players reported upon first using the new LOTRO Store .

We’ve got some new Enedwaith screenshots in our gallery. You can check them out here!

One of the constant challenges of game development, particularly within the MMO space, is the balance of quality and quantity when it comes to content. You need to make sure you have enough to do, but you also want to make sure it’s fun, challenging, and rewarding. Read more in the latest Developer Diary from Joe “jwbarry” Barry!

Check out the Codemasters community blog May Contain Gamers for blog posts, pictures and more from the team about the Codemasters Anniversary Raid Day.

The Grey Company has begun their journey southwards to rendezvous with their chieftain, Aragorn son of Arathorn. They pass quickly through the forgotten lands of Eregion, soon crossing into the region of Enedwaith and the northern tip of Dunland. Read more in the latest Developer Diary from Jonathan “Berephon” Rudder.

This Friday our Codemasters Anniversary Raid winners will be making their way to Codemasters HQ to take part in a live raid with the Codemasters team – the daunting and intensely challenging Lieutenant of Dol Guldur raid! We will be live streaming the raid out to the internet so you can come and watch us in our glorious victory or crushing defeat. There will be live commentary too to help you follow the action. To watch, you’ll need to visit our special live stream web page. Raid coverage will commence at approximately 2.00pm, (GMT+1/UK time). We'll also be taking comments and questions during the raid. Make sure you’re following us on Twitter as we'll be taking the questions via our LOTRO Europe Twitter channel. We hope to see you on Friday!

If you've not yet upgraded to Mines of Moria™ or Siege of Mirkwood™ then you're missing out on a fantastic amount of new content. We've got a special offer** on upgrades right now that include the Moria goat mount for just 1p! Find out more at www.lotro-europe.com/upgradeoffer now . **Terms and Conditions