Private Division and Weta Workshop have announced a brand new Lord of the Rings video game set in the wider literary world of J.R.R. Tolkien. It appears the game will not adapt the events of the feature film, but will instead be inspired by the deep lore of the Middle-earth book series.
‘We are thrilled to partner with Weta Workshop to publish a game set in such an extraordinary and celebrated universe,’ Michael Worosz, Chief Strategy Officer, Take-Two Interactive, and Head of Private Division said in a press release. ‘The Lord of the Rings IP is home to so many remarkable stories, and no entity is better equipped than the team at Weta Workshop to create a distinctive, new Middle-earth gaming experience.’
Amie Wolken, Head of Interactive at Weta Workshop described the game as ‘different’ from what fans have previously played, and enthused about the magic of the series.
The title is reportedly in early development, with plans for it to launch during Take-Two’s 2024 fiscal year. Private Division and Weta Workshop have promised meatier updates as work on the game continues.
Read: Lord of the Rings mobile game coming from EA in 2022
It appears this project is the very same that Weta Workshop was hiring for in late 2021. Several months ago, a new job listing spoiled that the company was working on a video game IP that was ‘very close to its heart’ – and while Weta has worked on a number of major films and TV shows that fit the bill, it’s most celebrated for its work on The Lord of the Rings, so there were clear assumptions to make.
This Tolkien-inspired video game now joins a host of others in the works. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is likely to be the next major adaptation, although EA is also currently working on a mobile game. On the TV front, there’s also Amazon’s upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, set for launch in September.
It’s a great time to be a Tolkien fan, and it’s about to get much better.
