In July, Turbine's Tolkein-based switched from a subscription to payment model. It seems the risky gamble has paid off: the game has doubled its revenue since the switchover.

LotRO executive producer Kate Paiz told Joystiq that change up was all about the numbers. After considering the options, came to the conclusion that "there was more out there for us" using a hybrid F2P/micro-transaction business plan.

Besides seeing a lift in revenue, it seems going subscription free has also nurtured the LotRO's in-game community. Paiz notes that 20 percent of former players have returned to Middle Earth, while more than a million newcomers have registered.

LotRO isn't the only game that Turbine has had success with by switching payment models - the Massachusetts-based studio also boosted the revenue of Dungeons and Dragons Online by going F2P.

By Luke Guttridge