Following rumours that it was working on a new Lord of the Rings game, Czech video game developer Warhorse Studios has finally set the record straight by announcing two new titles in the works, an open-world Middle-earth RPG and the next chapter in its flagship Kingdom Come franchise.
As announced via the studio’s social media pages, the studio confirmed that it was working on a Lord of the Rings RPG, but since it used the term “Middle-earth RPG”, this might mean that the game wouldn’t necessarily follow or be set in the world of J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic. Similarly, the new Kingdom Come game wasn’t explicitly announced as Kingdom Come: Deliverance 3, meaning it might not be a direct sequel but a spin-off, although these are just pure speculation for now, with the studio adding that it will “tell you more when the time is right.”
Warhorse seems like quite the perfect fit to develop a new game set in the Lord of the Rings universe, considering their expertise in making story-driven open-world RPG’s with the Kingdom Come series. Still, as they are now adapting such a beloved IP, fan expectation is at an all-time high, so it remains to be seen if the studio can match these expectations by staying completely true to the source material and not tarnish Tolkien’s legendary work.
This news also comes as Warhorse parent studio Embracer announced that it would be spinning off Fellowship Entertainment, a new business unit for some of its biggest franchises like The Lord of the Rings and Tomb Raider. As part of the announcement, the studio also said that it would be actively exploring more external partnerships for well-known IPs such as Saints Row, Legacy of Kain, Deus Ex, Red Faction, The Mask, Thief and TimeSplitters.
In other Lord of the Rings news, Crystal Dynamics, the studio behind the Tomb Raider franchise, is also rumoured to be working on its own adaptation of the popular IP, although sources say that the game is still quite far off. On the film side, Warner Bros.’ upcoming film The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is steadily inching towards its release on 17 December 2027, with Fifty Shades of Grey star Jamie Dornan taking over the role of a young Aragorn.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
Si Jia
