Choose The Lord of the Rings Online™
Choose The Lord of the Rings Online™ if you want a Free To Play experience. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 81% positive across 14,248 reviews.
The Lord of the Rings Online™ vs The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom
The Lord of the Rings Online™ and The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom both land in Action, Adventure, Massively Multiplayer on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Action, Adventure, Massively Multiplayer on Steam. The Lord of the Rings Online™ (2012) is 11 years older than The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom (2023). The Lord of the Rings Online™ scores higher on Steam reviews (81% positive) than The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom (71.8% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom
Choose The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom if you want the Online PvP and Online Co-op side of the pairing. On Steam, it's the newer release (2023) and ships with the modern feature baseline. The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom launched in 2023.
Both The Lord of the Rings Online™ and The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom sit in Action, Adventure, and Massively Multiplayer on Steam and both list Multi-player, MMO, and PvP, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 The Lord of the Rings Online™ |  The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2012 | 2023 |
| Genres | Action, Adventure, Massively Multiplayer, RPG, Free To Play | Action, Adventure, Massively Multiplayer, RPG |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows, macOS |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Unrated |
| Price | Free to play | Price unknown |
| Steam reviews | 81% positive (14,248 reviews) | 71.8% positive (181 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Co-op | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | Standing Stone Games | ZeniMax Online Studios |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Adventure, Massively Multiplayer on Steam.
- The Lord of the Rings Online™ (2012) is 11 years older than The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom (2023).
- The Lord of the Rings Online™ scores higher on Steam reviews (81% positive) than The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom (71.8% positive).
- The Lord of the Rings Online™ is free; The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom is paid (Price unknown).
- Both support cooperative play.
- The Lord of the Rings Online™ is Deck Playable on Steam Deck; The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom has no Deck rating yet.
The Lord of the Rings Online™ vs The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom — FAQ
- Which is better, The Lord of the Rings Online™ or The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom?
- On Steam reviews The Lord of the Rings Online™ scores higher (81% positive) than The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom (71.8% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, The Lord of the Rings Online™ is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play The Lord of the Rings Online™ or The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom first?
- If you want chronology, The Lord of the Rings Online™ (2012) came out before The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom (2023). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are The Lord of the Rings Online™ and The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom similar?
- They overlap on Action, Adventure, Massively Multiplayer on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Do both The Lord of the Rings Online™ and The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: The Lord of the Rings Online™ ships Co-op; The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom ships Online Co-op, Co-op.
- Is The Lord of the Rings Online™ free?
- Yes — The Lord of the Rings Online™ is a free-to-play Steam title. The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom is paid (Price unknown).
- Does The Lord of the Rings Online™ run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — The Lord of the Rings Online™ is rated Deck Playable by Valve. The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.