Take-Two’s Private Division publishing label and WETA Workshop have announced a new Lord of the Rings game to be set in Middle-earth. While WETA Workshop is best known for its prop work on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, its interactive game division will be creating a new title based on the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkein as opposed to the films. The untitled game is still in early development and has a launch window of fiscal year 2024.
WETA Workshop says this new Lord of the Rings game will be “different”
[Image Credit: Weta Workshop, picture of Weta Workshop Tours]
It’s unclear how Weta Workshop will be reinterpreting the Middle-earth setting, but the developer promises to make something unexpected. Amie Wolken, Head of Interactive at Weta Workshop, says:
It’s a privilege to create a new game set in Middle-earth, especially one that’s so different from what fans have played previously. As fans ourselves, we’re excited for gamers to explore Middle-earth in a way they never have before, and introduce fans to the magic of The Lord of the Rings.
Michael Worosz, Head of Private Division and Chief Strategy Officer of Take-Two Interactive, believes that “no entity is better equipped that the team at Weta Workshop to create a distinctive, new Middle-earth gaming experience.” As such, the developer has secured a license from Middle-earth Enterprises to provide it with the “broadcast creative license to interpret the underlying lore of the books.”
It’s tough to imagine something entirely new here considering the number of games that have been based on The Lord of the Rings franchise already. There are the hack-and-slashers like EA’s The Two Towers, action-adventures like Aragorn’s Quest and Shadow of Mordor, and more casual titles like LEGO The Lord of the Rings. Daedalic Entertaniment and Nacon will be releasing The Lord of the Rings: Gollum soon, and Epic Games is working on a Dwarven survival crafting game called The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria. That said, in April 2021 Tencent and Amazon canceled a Lord of the Rings MMORPG, so apart from the still-running Lord of the Rings Online that released in 2007, there’s some room in this genre for Weta Workshop to work with.
In other news, a new God of War Ragnarok trailer has given a recap of the story so far, and Microsoft seemingly admits that the PS4 has sold twice as much as the Xbox One.