The Lord of the Rings Online

Friday, 13th August 2010/... Codemasters Online has today announced that The Lord of the Rings OnlineTM (LOTRO) has been confirmed for gamescom 2010. To celebrate the highly anticipated introduction of LOTRO’s innovative new pricing model that allows players to download the game and play for free. Codemasters Online will be offering free Points to the value of €10 in a promotional giveaway for all who register for a free account in their booth at gamescom this year.

Visitors to the Codemasters Online/Warner Bros. booth, located in Hall 8.1, A31, will have the opportunity to register for their free account and will be rewarded with €10 worth of free in-game Points to spend in the new LOTRO Store when the game goes free-to-play this coming Autumn.

The LOTRO store is seamlessly integrated into the game and lets the player identify new and exciting ways to enhance and customise their experience using Points which can be purchased in the store or earned through gameplay. The new LOTRO Store will be loaded with thousands of convenience items as well as expansion packs, premium content, additional character slots, potions, character customisation and more.

As a highly praised MMO, LOTRO allows players of all levels to explore incredibly detailed realms and join familiar characters in an evolving and persistent re-creation of the epic landscape of Middle-earth. They will face the dangers Frodo and the Fellowship left behind when they began their epic journey to destroy the One Ring.

Gamers can adventure solo or forge their own fellowships online with others, as they face hideous monsters and minions of Sauron, establish unique reputations, fight epic battles to defend Middle-earth, and immerse themselves in the greatest adventure the fantasy genre has ever known.

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UK Press Information

Sarah Hartland: sarah.hartland@codemasters.com

www.codemasters.com/mediabank

Press Resource Web Site

Download game artwork, screens and essential Codemasters’ press materials direct to your desktop from: www.codemasters.com/mediabank  

About Codemasters

Codemasters is a leading developer and publisher of best-selling interactive entertainment products for a global audience across multiple gaming platforms and channels. Established in 1986, the company’s dominant brands include Colin McRae DiRT, Race Driver GRID, Overlord and Operation Flashpoint; the company recently secured the exclusive worldwide video game rights to FORMULA 1. Codemasters is headquartered in Warwickshire UK, with North American operations based in Universal City, California. The company also maintains operations in Germany, France, Spain, Benelux and Malaysia. Codemasters receives over two million visitors to its web site every month, discover why at www.codemasters.com.

About Codemasters Online

Codemasters Online is a leading global publisher / operator of online persistent world games. Established in 2005 and part of the wider Codemasters organisation, in a short time Codemasters Online has become one of the west’s leading gaming companies specialising in persistent world services. With a suite of successful persistent games including the hugely popular The Lord of the Rings Online ^TM , and forthcoming space based MMO Jumpgate Evolution, Codemasters Online is one of the fastest growing specialists in massively multiplayer online games in the world.

About Turbine

Turbine, Inc. is a premier creator and operator of massive, persistent online worlds that foster powerful social gaming communities. Turbine is wholly owned by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group and has created some of the world’s most popular and award-winning online games, including The Lord of the Rings Online ^TM , Dungeons & Dragons Online ^® : Eberron Unlimited ^TM , and Asheron's Call ^® . For more information on Turbine, its products and services please visit www.turbine.com.

About Middle-earth Enterprises

The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises f/k/a Tolkien Enterprises (SZC), is the holder of worldwide motion picture, legitimate stage, merchandising, and other rights in the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. SZC has been producing and licensing films, stage productions and merchandise based on the Tolkien works for more than 30 years. Its headquarters are located in Berkeley, California and its Middle-earth Enterprises website may be found at www.middleearth.com.

About Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, is a premier worldwide publisher, developer, licensor and distributor of entertainment content for the interactive space across all current and future platforms, including console, handheld and PC-based gaming for both internal and third party game titles.

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THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE ^TM interactive video game © 2010 Turbine, Inc. and patents pending. All rights reserved. Middle-earth Poster Map © 2007 The Saul Zaentz Company, d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises f/k/a Tolkien Enterprises (SZC), under license to Turbine, Inc. All rights reserved. “The Lord of the Rings Online”, “Siege of Mirkwood”, Middle-earth Enterprises logo, “The Lord of the Rings” and the names of the characters, events, items and places therein are trademarks or registered trademarks of SZC under license to Turbine, Inc. Turbine and the Turbine logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Turbine, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other jurisdictions. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.