Warhorse Studios, the team behind the Kingdom Come: Deliverance series, is the next developer being given the Lord of the Rings license, and is now developing a new game in the Middle-earth setting.
The company announced that it’s working on an open-world RPG set in Middle-earth, but didn’t give any more details on what it will entail, including where it falls in J. R. R. Tolkien’s timeline, who we’ll be playing as, and if there will be any crossover with the franchise’s established characters or if it will be an entirely new story. Some Middle-earth games like Shadow of Mordor have introduced original characters, while others, like the very bad Gollum game, have starred names from the existing canon. So it could go either way. All we know is that it’s coming, and it’s not the only thing Warhorse is working on.
You might have heard the rumours, it’s time to reveal what we are working on.
🗺️ An open world Middle-earth RPG.
⚔️ A new Kingdom Come adventure.We’re excited to tell you more when the time is right.#WarhorseStudios #Annoucement #lotr #KingdomComeDeliverance pic.twitter.com/Pcgf9SqW52
— Warhorse Studios (@WarhorseStudios) May 20, 2026
Alongside the Middle-earth announcement, Warhorse also confirmed it’s working on another Kingdom Come game, but it specifically doesn’t mention if this will be another Deliverance game or if it will be a different take on the company’s existing medieval RPG sim formula. It is merely called “a new Kingdom Come adventure.” That suggests a sequel, but who knows.
Rumors of a Warhorse Middle-earth game have been circulating for a bit, with the studio declining to actually quiet the gossip earlier this month. All of this follows recent controversy around the company’s alleged use of AI translators in favor of human workers after an employee claimed they were fired as the company transitioned to automated translation. The company has since claimed it doesn’t use AI-generated content “in the final game and [has] no plans to change this in the future.”