EA is making a Lord of the Rings mobile ‘collectible RPG’

By DeAngelo Epps May 9, 2022

A new Lord of the Rings game is on the way to mobile devices thanks to a new partnership between EA and Middle-Earth Enterprises, a division of The Saul Zaentz Company. The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth is a free-to-play “Collectible RPG” that EA plans to add to its live service portfolio.

Tease image from EA's upcoming LOTR mobile game.

This new partnership comes shortly after the Lord of the Rings gaming and movie rights went on sale by Zaentz Co., the rights holder of the series. This is the first major Lord of the Rings gaming project to emerge since then.

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The title features “immersive storytelling, turn-based combat, deep collection systems, and a wide roster of characters from across the vast universe of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.” EA’s press release also states that the game is solely inspired by the depiction of Middle-earth as it’s described in the actual Lord of the Rings books by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The blog goes into detail about more things to expect from Heroes of Middle-earth like high-fidelity graphics, cinematic animations, and stylized art. However, not much has been disclosed beyond those details, with no gameplay or images of the actual game being shared.

If the word “collectible” has you nervous in the NFT era (especially after EA called them “the future of our industry“), don’t worry: EA confirmed to Digital Trends that the game will not feature NFT integration.

With rarely any hard details shared, it’s no surprise that The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth doesn’t have a release window just yet. However, EA is aiming to launch a limited best test this summer.

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The Lord of the Rings: Gollum delayed ‘a few months’ to meet player expectations

Gollum from The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.

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This was confirmed via the game's official Twitter account today, with a message from developer Daedalic Entertainment. It's unclear when the game will launch now, but Daedalic said it will update the community with the exact timing "in the near future." Though it hasn't been confirmed, it's possible this game will now come out in 2023 if it doesn't manage to make a November or December release.

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Epic Games Summer Showcase offers new Lord of the Rings title, Ghostbusters, more

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Epic Games held its own showcase earlier today as a part of Summer Game Fest 2022. While there weren't any major announcements to satisfy gamers left wanting by the previous day's slightly disappointing Summer Game Fest Kickoff event, there were plenty of interesting trailers, including a new Lord of the Rings co-op crafting title reveal, a closer look at the upcoming Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, and new season announcements for fan-favorites Splitgate, Rocket League and Fall Guys.

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The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is finally launching quite soon

Gollum stares at the eye of Sauron in The Lord of the Rings: Gollum key art.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum finally has a release date. Daedalic Entertainment and Nacon confirmed during a hands-off preview event attended by Digital Trends that this unique Lord of the Rings game finally launches on September 1.
Daedalic Entertainment first announced The Lord of the Rings: Gollum in 2019, but the game was pushed back to 2022 when Nacon came on board as publisher. Thankfully, we won't have to wait much longer for this adventure as it's only a few months away. Since its announcement, the rights for Lord of the Rings games have gone up for sale, and EA has announced a mobile game based on the franchise. Thankfully, none of those developments seemed to have negatively impacted The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.
Gollum will die in a direct confrontation, so he must stealthily dodge and take down enemies.
Digital Trends got an early look at The Lord of the Rings: Gollum via a hands-off demo. While this may seem like an odd comparison, imagine Uncharted's platforming in a stealth-focused game set in the Lord of the Rings universe. I saw Gollum hopping around ledges in both Mordor and Mirkwood as the developer carefully managed Gollum's stamina so he wouldn't fall off any ledges he was climbing.
Combat is minimal as Gollum has limited stamina he can use in attacks. As such, platforming and puzzle-solving will be the best ways to get through many situations. Throughout the game, players will also have to choose between the Gollum and Sméagol personalities during key story moments, and these decisions will impact the narrative.
Characters like Thranduil and Gandalf also made appearances in the demo. They sported looks more similar to their description in the books than how they were portrayed in the movies. While Gollum obviously isn't the prettiest protagonist, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has a distinct look and feel compared to any The Lord of the Rings game that has come before it.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will be released for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X on September 1. A Nintendo Switch version is also in the works, but does not have a release window outside of 2022.