Lord of the Rings Online developer Turbine confirmed that they are working on a new massively multiplayer online game that will sell in-game items for cash.
Word of the game leaked out after a job posting for a micro-transaction and e-commerce manager hit Turbine's website.
In the description, the company said the position would be for someone "responsible for delivering and maximizing the revenue derived from Turbine’s micro-transaction-based in-game store."
But yesterday a Turbine employee posted in the company's forums that the job was for an "unannounced future project."
Hey guys! We know the recent job listing has caused a bit of a stir, but please be aware that this posting is for an unannounced future project. We appreciate the thoughts and feedback on both sides thus far.
While selling items in a game for additional money has been met with some criticism among gamers, I think it's much less likely to hit a wall if it launches with a game rather than being added on after a game goes live.
Turbine at work on micro-transaction MMO [Games Industry]