AdminThe Lord of the Rings remains a popular adaptation target, and now we’ve learned that a new Middle-earth game has gone into production with Take-Two Interactive.
Developed by Wētā Workshop’s interactive games division, this announcement fits well with the launch of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power next month, which Wētā Workshop is also involved in. The Outer Worlds, Hades, and the World of OlliOlli.
Speaking in the private section official website (opens in a new tab)Amie Wolken, head of Interactive at Wētā Workshop, teased that this game was “so different from what fans have played before.” But beyond that and the surroundings of Middle-earth, the details for the currently unnamed game are pretty sparse.
Not surprisingly, being in the early stages of development means there is no set release date, it is simply expected to go live “during Take-Two’s fiscal year 2024”. Historically, Take-Two is a cross-platform publisher, so given the timeframe, we speculate that it will appear on PS5, Xbox Series X / S, and PC.
We’re excited to announce that we’ve partnered with @WetaWorkshop to release a new game set in JRR Tolkien’s Middle-earth literary universe. We look forward to hearing more about the project in the future! pic.twitter.com/z9HxvXe7DaAugust 15, 2022
Not our only adventure to Middle-earth
Wolken’s announcement made me curious about what exactly this new Middle-earth game could bring. While previous adaptations like The Lord of the Rings: The War in the North and Middle-earth: Shadow of the War were more action-oriented, we’ve also noticed a few discrepancies, making it hard to predict what the team is planning.
From more comical experiences like LEGO: The Hobbit to the MMORPG entry of The Lord of the Rings Online, there’s also Lord of the Rings: Gollum, an upcoming adaptation set in the first few chapters of The Fellowship. Instead, provided to us by the publishers Nacon and Daedalic Entertainment, it also promises something else.
Since the gameplay is split between Gollum and Sméagol, his former character, we’ll have to manage these two aspects of his character in a series of stealth and platforming sections. Unfortunately, Gollum was recently delayed in late 2022, but it shouldn’t be too long before we can finally experience it.
