New funding lets Turbine self-publish D&D Online

Online game developer Turbine Entertainment has secured $18 million (â'¬14.5m) in new funding, and plans to use part of the money to self-publish its forthcoming Dungeons & Dragons Online title.

The studio, which is best known for its work on the massively-multiplayer Asheron's Call title for Microsoft Game Studios, has agreed the new funding deal with its original investors and two venture capital firms, Highland Capital Partners and Polaris Venture Partners,

According to a spokesperson, the latest round of investment signalled a "total shift in business model", allowing the developer to bring Dungeons & Dragons Online almost totally in-house - with server housing, technical support, billing, quality assurance and all the rest set to be handled internally.

"We're taking out the middle man between us and our fans," Turbine says, although the firm retains its partnership with Atari for retail marketing and distribution.

Turbine is also working on The Lord of the Rings: Middle-Earth Online, Vivendi-Universal Games' massively-multiplayer take on the lands of J.R.R. Tolkien's novels, and some of cash from this latest round of funding will of course go towards continuing work on that project.