Lord of the Rings Online Announces Server Mergers

One of the longest running MMORPGs, The Lord of the Rings Online (LotRO) has just announced its first round of server mergers since the game's 2007 release. The lengthy post on the official site details the plans to merge the current roster of 29 servers down to 10 (5 US, 5 EU) by the end of the year. Just which servers will remain and which will be axed has not yet been announced, players will have to wait until August 3rd for that info.

To help ease the transition, Turbine is giving all players a 'The Free Peoples' gift box that contains a special cloak and housing banner decoration. Players will also receive a title that displays which world their character is from.

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Server mergers are always a messy affair, but Turbine has outlined perhaps the most thorough process thus far seen in a MMORPG. The official post goes into length on every issue including Housing transfers, name priority, guild issues, and so forth. The studio is also taking a measured pace with mergers with the process starting in August and scheduled to conclude early next year.

With the recent closure of Infinity Crisis, one wonders how well Turbine's other games are doing. Perhaps a LotRO server merger was long over due, but Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDO) is also begining to show its age. Many players must have moved on to the newer D&D themed MMORPG, Neverwinter by Arc Games.

LotRO players are highly encouraged to read the entire World Transfers post.