European Beta programme and Stress Test confirmed for The Lord of the Rings Online™: Shadows of Angmar™
First Stress Test this weekend – Huge numbers expected to join
The European Beta programme for The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar will officially go live this coming weekend, Codemasters Online Gaming and Turbine announced today.
The programme will commence with the first The Lord of the Rings Online Stress Test on Saturday 13th January, which will officially open the Beta to a wider gaming audience. Thousands of eager Beta testers are expected to join the game in a unique opportunity to test the service to its limits.
"This weekend's Stress Test is a major milestone for The Lord of the Rings Online; for the first time we will be allowing tens of thousands of people to join the game and test every aspect to the absolute limit," commented Jim Brown, producer at Codemasters Online Gaming. "By introducing a great number of new players to the Beta, we will be able to gather valuable information on performance of our hardware."
In addition to being some of the first to experience The Lord of the Rings Online, gamers who join the Beta this weekend and take part in the Stress Test will also have their Beta account active for the duration of the programme.
"Reaching this stage of the Beta programme is always a great feeling," says David Solari, Vice President and General Manager of Codemasters Online Gaming. "We hope to have over 200,000 people try The Lord of the Rings Online before the official launch of the game in spring, making it one of the largest beta tests in Europe ever. The commitment and passion of the community involved is huge and it's great to give many of these loyal fans a taste of the action before we launch."
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar is the only MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) PC game based on the Books of J.R.R. Tolkien. Live the most famous fantasy world of all time joining thousands of players as you adventure through Middle-earth in the fight against the forces of the Witch-king of Angmar.
To sign up for the beta program and participate in this weekend's Stress Test, visit www.lotro-europe.com/beta. The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar will be co-published by Turbine and Codemasters Online Gaming in Europe this spring. For more on the game, visit http://www.lotro-europe.com
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