The Lord of the Rings is one of the greatest fantasy stories ever told, and Warhorse Studios taking Tolkien's stories and turning it into a sprawling open world Middle Earth RPG sounds like a match made in heaven. This news is especially exciting given how difficult it has been to be one The Lord of the Rings hell lately. From 2023 is unlucky Gollum game to Ringing with power turning it into something more like fan fiction than a faithful adaptation, The Lord of the Rings is in need of a win.
Despite the problems that have faced the franchise, there are at least a few silver linings. Smaller things like the Minas Tirith LEGO set are fun extras to add even The Lord of the Rings collection, but Warhorse's confirmed Middle-earth RPG is one of the most exciting announcements to come from the IP in a long time. After the success of Kingdom Come: Deliverance series, Warhorse has a chance to prove itself as the perfect developer to adapt Tolkien's stories.
Warhorse's Lord of the Rings RPG can make up for The Rings of Power's Lore missteps
Then The Ringing with power set in the Second Age, the series condensed the timeline and made many major changes to key characters and their motivations. For a series as beloved as The Lord of the Rings books, this was a huge risk on Amazon Prime's part, and it has left fans deeply divided. Many hardcore fans see the reworked timeline and character changes as disrespectful to Tolkien's work. Of course, there are still fans out there who don't mind the changes and enjoy the overall story, but the many critics and controversial choices have left a dark cloud hanging over the series.
Select cover image to complete the equations.
Start
Select cover image to complete the equations.
Easy (15s) Medium (10s) Hard (5s)
Spoilers ahead too The Rings of Power.
A look at some of the biggest changes made to The Rings of Power
-
The origin of Mithril is different.
-
Halbrand (Sauron's season 1 fair form) is an original character created for the series.
-
Gandalf arrives in Middle-earth much earlier than in the books.
-
Men and Elves were unaware of Hobbits in the Second Age, but Ringing with power adds them to the story.
-
Celeborn presumed dead after disappearing during the Jewel War is not part of Tolkien's canon.
-
The creation of Mordor deviates from the official tradition.
-
Tom Bombadil who lives in Rhun and trains wizards for war is not mentioned in the books.
- The Rings of Power pits Galadriel and Sauron against each other in a battle for the Nine Rings of Men, but the books only mention him fighting Celebrimbor.
-
Sauron putting his blood in the nine rings is also not mentioned in the books.
Because some details in The Lord of the Rings are left vague, aspects of the story that are embellished and expanded are understandable, but other changes that completely shake up the entire story are frustrating. People take The Lord of the Rings' learn seriously, and there is a responsibility to adapt an author's work as closely as possible. Changes like these wouldn't be as controversial if it was a completely original The Lord of the Rings story that was simply inspired by Tolkien's world, but being an adaptation of official lore means that any adjustments must be reviewed.
The intricate details of the lore make something new The Lord of the Rings project difficult to realize, but Warhorse has made a name for itself as a studio passionate about attention to detail. The developer may still be a new face in the gaming world, but the team has proven that taking the time to focus on the finer details makes the game world that much more compelling.
Warhorse's Eye for Detail and Love of Realism make its Lord of the Rings RPG sound extra promising
A deeply immersive single player open world The Lord of the Rings RPG is something that many fans have wanted for a long time. The details of this project are incredibly sparse, but it has the right ingredients to make one special The Lord of the Rings experience. It won't be easy, but Warhorse's efforts with Kingdom Come: Deliverance the series is an exciting taster of what lies ahead.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance revels in historical accuracy and grounded immersion
Of course, The Lord of the Rings is fiction, so there can be no historical accuracy when making this game. But there's definitely accuracy in the lore that Warhorse has to take into account. Creating a real world like the Kingdom of Bohemia is not that different from customizing a map of Middle-earth.
With both, developers only have descriptions from other people's writings to build on, providing a fascinating creative challenge, whether historical or fictional. The Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 historical locations take the accuracy of the first game even further with its diverse areas, and it will be wild to see how Warhorse uses the same skills to bring a fantasy world to life.
The intricate details of the lore make something new The Lord of the Rings project difficult to realize, but Warhorse has made a name for itself as a studio passionate about attention to detail.
With Warhorse's Kingdom Come: Deliverance series, the studio went far beyond simply setting an RPG in 15th-century Bohemia, hiring a full-time historian to double- and triple-check its design while consulting universities, museums, and other cultural institutions. Its developers used sources such as Talhoffer Fencing book and worked with experienced sword hunters to recreate medieval battles, while researching period materials, construction methods, colors and craftsmanship for sites such as Kuttenberg and Trosky Castle. Warhorse explored even harder-to-document aspects of medieval life, including how people spoke, practiced religion, formed relationships and dealt with their daily concerns, ensuring the series reflected much more than the era's battles and political figures.
Because Middle-earth RPG is Warhorse's first project which is nothing new Kingdom Come games, this also means that the studio will have a lot to work on. While it adds extra pressure, it can also inspire more inspiration. Players already know what Warhorse is capable of when it comes to historical accuracy. Now is the time to prove how well the team can handle knowledge precision. But given what the studio had committed to accomplishing with its Kingdom Come: Deliverance series, it's likely that the same care and attention to detail will carry over to its Middle-earth re-creation.
Season 2 of The Rings of Power broadcast on November 11, 2026.
The sad news is that it will probably be a while before Warhorse's The Lord of the Rings the game is complete. It has been confirmed that the next Kingdom Come the game may be ready sometime in 2027/2028, but a project as ambitious as an open world The Lord of the Rings the game will require a terrifying amount of effort and care. While the potentially long wait is a bummer, the good news is that Warhorse Studios' track record means they may have what it takes to deliver The Lord of the Rings fan the Middle-earth game of their dreams.
