Deliverance Dev Confirms New Franchise Entry and Lord of the Rings RPG

Warhorse Studios just revealed that its next two projects will be a new entry in the Kingdom Come: Deliverance franchise and an open world The Lord of the Rings RPG. The studio rose to prominence in 2018 with the first Kingdom Come: Deliverance game and release the sequel, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, in 2025. Co-founder Daniel Vávra worked as a designer and writer on the first two The mafia game before Warhorse Studios opened in 2011 with Martin Klíma.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance was praised for its grounded approach to the open world RPG genre and historical setting, but criticized for technical issues. The dedication to realistic mechanics divided critics and players, with some praising the immersion while others felt it got in the way of the storytelling. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 received an even more positive reception when it came out in 2025. Many saw it as a dramatic improvement over its predecessor. Both games received story expansions, making the already great adventures even bigger.

New Kingdom Come and Lord of the Rings games from Warhorse Studios

In a Twitter post from Warhorse Studios' official account on May 20, the developer announced both a new Kingdom Come: Deliverance games and an open world The Lord of the Rings RPG. Rumors had already circulated Kingdom Come: Deliverance developers who make a The Lord of the Rings game, and this announcement finally confirms it. The tweet was accompanied by a simple photo and a brief statement: “We're happy to share more when the time is right.”

The words “Lord of the Rings” don't actually appear anywhere in the announcement. Instead, the game is called “an open world Middle Earth RPG.” Midgard is the setting for The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbitand the wording suggests that the game will not follow the story and characters of the books or movies but will instead tell an original story within The Lord of the Rings universe. The second game is also called one Kingdom Come adventure, so it is not confirmed if this is Kingdom Come: Deliverance 3 or a spin-off.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a grounded RPG adventure in a historical setting and notably without magic or mythical creatures. Middle-earth is full of both magic and monsters, so it will be interesting to see how the developer's experience translates into a true fantasy setting. It is also unknown if the Middle-earth game will feature the same complex systems as Kingdom Come franchise. If it does, The Lord of the Rings fans who are more casual gamers may be overwhelmed by such depth.

This won't be the first open world game set in the universe that JRR Tolkien created. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War was an open-world action-adventure game that used their trademark Nemesis System. There is even an MMORPG, The Lord of the Rings: Online. However, an open world RPG using the setting will be the first of its kind and most likely a dream come true for many fans of the franchise and something they have probably been waiting for a long time.

Released

February 4, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+/Use of alcohol, blood and grime, sexual content, strong language, intense violence, partial nudity

Developer

Warhorse Studios