Summary

  • Lord of the Rings games are making a comeback, but recent releases haven't met expectations.
  • The slate of new Middle-earth games offers variety, but they have yet to make a significant impact in the market.
  • Tales of the Shire must impress to avoid tarnishing the Lord of the Rings brand with a pattern of forgettable projects.

After years of letting the Lord of the Rings IP gather dust, the gaming industry seems to be going all in on the fantasy franchise. No longer is it tied down by whatever Warner Bros. Wants to make; instead, many studios have been able to get their hands on its world. Now, fans have been treated to an action-adventure title and a survival game, with an Animal Crossing-like experience just around the corner. And although this has helped give Lord of the Rings fans something to do, this direction seems to be a bit of a bumpy road.

So far, the Lord of the Rings games released during this new wave have proven a bit lackluster with audiences. Lord of the Rings: Gollum was panned and Return to Moria seems to have come and gone with a whimper. While there is a chance that the cozy Hobbit game Tales of the Shire rights that ship, if it also falls flat, then it may be time for the gaming industry to rethink its Lord of the Rings strategy a bit. The franchise could be a gold mine, but the games need to improve drastically for that to happen.

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Lord of the Rings Games Might Not Be Able to Go On Like This

The Broad Approach to Middle-earth Games is a Double-Edged Sword

In 2017, Lord of the Rings added the hotly anticipated Middle-earth: Shadow of War to its list of games. Even with its controversial microtransaction model, the game still ended up being pretty popular with players. But, instead of following it up shortly after with even more titles, the industry set Lord of the Rings aside for the most part. Outside a few mobile games and updates to Lord of the Rings Online, the IP remained mostly dormant. Even after Amazon started production on The Rings of Power, there seemed to be nothing major in the pipeline. Luckily that has changed since.

With the release of Lord of the Rings: Gollum in 2023, there seems to be no shortage of Middle-earth-centric games on the way. While that game proved pretty lackluster with audiences, it was quickly followed by the survival game The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria. This year, players will also be treated to Tales of the Shire. Amazon has also been hard-at-work on its own Lord of the Rings MMO, and there are likely many more projects in the works.

This slew of releases has helped to fill the void left by a lack of Middle-earth video games. However, at the same time, these experiences have yet to make a real dent in the market. It may be nice to explore this fantasy franchise through various different genres, yet many fans wish that these titles were a bit stronger. Because the last two were lacking, it's understandable if fans are skeptical about whether Tales of the Shire can deliver.

Tales of the Shire Needs to Live Up to the Hype

There is a chance that Tales of the Shire will blow audiences away when it finally hits store shelves. Setting a cozy Animal Crossing-like title in the Shire sounds like a recipe for success, so hopefully, the gameplay is able to back it up. If it cannot, then the Lord of the Rings brand may be in a tough spot going forward, associating its name with a series of forgettable projects. While the main series will always be iconic, too many bad experiences could ruin the potential of future ones in advance.

If the games that release using the Lord of the Rings name are all disappointing, it will be cause for ever greater skepticism. Without a good reputation, projects with more potential may never stand a chance. But if Tales of the Shire ends up being the hit that the studio wants, then it might be able to right the ship a bit. As long as developers can keep that momentum going, Middle-earth could dominate the video game landscape and avoid getting put on the backburner once more.

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The Lord of the Rings
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Created by
J. R. R. Tolkien
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The Lord of the Rings is one of the most iconic names in entertainment. The franchise started with novels from J. R. R. Tolkien before being adapted onto the big screen by Peter Jackson in one of the most critically-acclaimed film trilogies of all time. There have also been numerous The Lord of the Rings video games of varying quality. 

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