(and hope)

In short, a confirmation on the renewal of the license would be appreciated much. Even if naught is set down yet for next year, a 'we intent and plan to continue' would be welcome.

Also, on a recent interview/talk (in 2015) the Lead Worldbuilder mentioned that the rights to the Hobbit were still in place. Can this too be confirmed? that you still have the licence for the Hobbit. For based on the latest official information it seems that the rights to the Hobbit are available again. Another question that I have had in mind for some time is whether Turbine would be open to, indeed, crowdfunding LotRO. You have perhaps the most loyal mmo community, and awarded multiple times for its passion. Let us help LotRO. I am certain more than a few are willing to.

It is good to see this initiative!Among many questions, perhaps the most burning one for all is regarding the license as we are now one year away from the next anniversarry.For my part, I feelit is certain that it will be renewed due to some game development things that we have seen the past year, and also social-strategy movements for the sharing of LotRO that I have noticed in some sources. And I remember reading that the only, or main, reason WB wanted to buy Turbine was to own the rights to all the Lord of the Rings games (as till then LotRO was the only one not tied to them it seems). If that is true, it seems then very unlikely that WB will let others have it. It is a never-ceasing source of players due to not only the pre-existing strong and great in numbers Tolkien fandom, but also new folk that get to read the books and see the movies. The charm and lure of Tolkien's mythos is never fading. It has conquered the test of time like no other fantasy genre.Many thanks.And nine years of Middle-earth online, that is a long time indeed, and I hope many more are to follow!