I heard that changes were already under way with the switch to Standing Stones Games running Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online. Their logo has already replaced Turbine’s in the splash screens.
A dark logo for dark times
But I had heard that the deal with Daybreak was already making its presence known with an new EULA agreement. So I kicked off the launcher… and then realized I had made a huge mistake because I hadn’t logged in for three months so the whole patching process was going to take at least an hour.
Seriously, if Daybreak can do something for SSG it is teach them how to make a launcher. I know it took SOE a few tries, but their current launcher/patcher for EQII is pretty good.
Anyway, once the patch dance was finally done, I found that it was true, that I had to accept not one but two Daybreak
Terms one
Terms two
So the merger… um… union of these two companies is under way. Of course, this is just a start. Once you are actually in the game and go to the LOTRO Store, you can find the old Turbine terms of service still lingering, last updated at some point in 2011.
Turbine still reigns inside
The first changes are there. I am sure a lot more will follow.
The Ancient Gaming Noob 
Interesting. I couldn’t agree more about the launcher. The execrable Turbine abomination is the single main reason I change my mind nine times out of ten whenever I get the urge to revisit LotRO. And yes, while there were a few clunkers among the many launchers SOE/DBG went through over the years, the current one is extremely reliable and very comfortable and easy to use. If they end up using that as a gateway to get into the game then the chances of my playing LotRO again increase many times over.
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