In a new press release by Private Division, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive, it was announced that a New game in the Middle-Earth universe of J.R.R Tolkien is in the works. The announcement comes after a successful publishing agreement today (August 15, 2022) with Wētā Workshop, a special effect company that worked before on the Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
Amie Wolken, Head of Interactive at Wētā 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,” meaning that this new game might not necessarily end up in the same vein as EA's hack and slash LOTR action series, or the action RPGs developed by Monolith productions. Amie adds that they are excited for gamers to explore Middle-Earth in a way they never have before, so it might expand on the original canon as well.
The creative freedom Wētā Workshop has with the original IP also seems to hint at that. Middle-Earth Enterprises, the exclusive owners of all license rights related to J.R.R Tolkien works are mentioned to be providing Wētā Workshop with the broadest creative license to interpret the underlying lore of the books in the way they see fit. The creators of Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War have also collaborated before with Middle-Earth Enterprises to prevent any contradictions between their story and Tolkein's books and to ensure maximum authenticity.
The new Middle-Earth title is in early development. No release date has been announced but it is expected to launch during Take-Two's Fiscal Year 2024. More details will be shared in the future according to the press release. This means the game has a development time frame of at least three years. Private Division's previously published works include a variety of genres like Sports, RPGs, Roguelikes, and Simulation games, so nothing is set in stone yet about what type of experience it might be and how it's going to be different from earlier Middle Earth games.
Currently, fans are eagerly anticipating Lord of the Rings: Gollum, a game set in the middle earth universe where the titular character Gollum is the protagonist. A new Lord of the Rings online experience was also announced to be in the works in 2018 by Athlon Games alongside Middle-Earth enterprises, but not much has been revealed after that. EA also announced earlier in May this year that it's working on a new mobile game called Heroes of Middle Earth, and it is expected to be released after a beta testing period sometime this summer.