New Lord of the Rings game in development by Weta Workshop and Outer Worlds publisher

Liam Mackay
Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings

Private Division, the publisher behind hit games such as The Outer Worlds have announced a partnership with Weta Workshop to develop a brand-new Lord of the Rings game set in Tolkien’s Middle-earth.

A ton of fan-favorite games have come from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Tolkien’s wider world, and now, Private Division and Weta Workshop are partnering to develop a brand-new game set in Tolkien’s Middle-earth.

Weta Workshop is a name that should be extremely familiar to Lord of the Rings fans, as they created Middle-earth as we know it. Weta is the studio behind the props, costumes and special effects for both the movies and Amazon’s TV show, and will now be working alongside Private Division to create this brand-new Lord of the Rings game.

Private Division is part of Take-Two Interactive and have published highly-rated games such as Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds, OlliOlli World, and Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey.

“We are thrilled to partner with Wētā Workshop to publish a game set in such an extraordinary and celebrated universe,” said Michael Worosz, Take Two’s Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Private Division.

“The Lord of the Rings IP is home to so many remarkable stories, and no entity is better equipped than the team at Wētā Workshop to create a distinctive, new Middle-earth gaming experience.”

“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,” said Amie Wolken, Weta’s Head of Interactive. “As fans ourselves, we’re excited for gamers to explore Middle-earth in a way they never have before, and introduce new fans to the magic of The Lord of the Rings.”

Not much else is known about the game right now, but it sounds like it will be separate from the movies and will “interpret the underlying lore of the books.”

While there’s no official release date, the game is “expected to launch during Take-Two’s Fiscal Year 2024,” which is sometime between April 2023 and March 2024.

Gollum releases later this year, and EA are developing a new Lord of the Rings mobile game alongside a brand-new Star Wars FPS. Plus, Gandalf and other LotR characters have been leaked for MultiVersus.

Image Credit: New Line Cinema

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About The Author

Liam is CharlieIntel's Editor who focuses on Call of Duty but also plays lots of fantasy RPGs or anything else in his massive gaming backlog. After graduating in Journalism from Edinburgh Napier University, Liam freelanced in games journalism before joining CharlieIntel in November 2020. You can contact Liam at [email protected].