The Lord of the Rings franchise is reportedly getting a new game. According to a report by Insider Gaming, the title is being developed thanks to partial funding by Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), which comes out to around $100 million. This deal has apparently been in the works for a whole year.
Along with ADIO, the funding of the Lord of the Rings game is also being handled by a host of different companies, including Embracer and Revenge. Embracer’s presence in this project shouldn’t come as a surprise since it has held rights for the IP since 2022. However, the company, when asked for comment, said “a general rule, we do not comment on rumors or speculation.”
While no new Lord of the Rings game has been announced as of yet, this in-development title is expected to be revealed “soon”, with Insider Gaming’s report noting that it could happen next week. The report also noted that it was going to be a third-person action game, and is being developed to “compete with Hogwarts Legacy”. This likely means that it will also be an open-world adventure title.
The Lord of the Rings franchise has seen many video game adaptations, from classic strategy games like the Battle for Middle-earth series, to MOBAs, and even an MMORPG in the form of The Lord of the Rings Online. Over the last decade, we’ve also seen adaptations in the form of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its sequel Shadow of War. Most recently, we saw the release of stealth adventure title The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, as well as cozy life sim Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game.
Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game was the most recent of these releases, having come out back in July. It is available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch, and you can check out more details about it in our review.
Another interesting take on the franchise in terms of premise and gameplay mechanics was 2923’s The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria. The title had players take on the role of Dwarves trapped in the mines of Moria as part of a disastrous attempt to return to the underground city. In terms of gameplay, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria focused on survival and crafting mechanics, with players also being encouraged to venture deeper into a procedurally-generated take on the city of Moria and its surrounding caves in order to get their hands on more crafting materials.
2023 also saw the disastrous release of another Lord of the Rings project – The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. As the title might imply, players take control of Gollum in search for his “precious” – the One Ring. The events of the game take place before Gollum encounters Samwise Gamgee and Frodo Baggins who are on their own quest to destroy the One Ring.
If you’re interested in checking out The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, check out our thoughts on what went wrong with the game.
