The Lord of the Rings Online goes free in Europe

Codemasters Online have announced that from today The Lord of the Rings Online is available for free-to-play for players across Europe.

The game can be downloaded from the official site and players can play thier characters up to level 50 for free. To suppliment the free-to-play model there is a new LOTRO store where you can buy expansions, quest packs, items, account services. Optionally players can choose to pay a monthly fee for extra features such as more character slots, unlimited gold limit and more inventory space.

"We are thrilled to finally be able to launch LOTRO as a free-to-play game and introduce the new store and updated content in Europe today. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our players for their patience. It is very much appreciated." said David Solari, Vice President and General Manager of Codemasters Online. "We anticipate the LOTRO's new free-to-play model will significantly increase our customer base and we look forward to welcoming everyone to Middle-earth."