Middle-earth still has plenty of unexplored corners, but one underutilized aspect of The Lord of the Rings‘ lore is its werewolves, which are being officially expanded upon this fall. Finding their home in Mordor, it’s worth noting how little of that region is also explored. The plains surrounding Mount Doom, the fortress of Barad-dur, and the lands crossed during the War of the Ring have received plenty of attention, but most Tolkien lore in the Dark Land has remained largely unexplored. Tolkien’s fantasy world leaves plenty of room beyond those familiar locations for stories involving different cultures, creatures, and remnants of an older Mordor.
Some of those stories can also reveal sides of Sauron that rarely appear in adaptations of The Lord of the Rings. Long before the Dark Lord became synonymous with the One Ring and Barad-dur, Tolkien’s writings gave him other identities and connections to the creatures of Middle-earth. One particularly unusual piece of his history comes from his association with werewolves, with Sauron once carrying the title of the Lord of Werewolves. Much of this material is found in The Silmarillion rather than The Lord of the Rings itself, but it’s being expanded upon soon.
Werewolves Take Center Stage in New Lord of the Rings Release
This forgotten Lord of the Rings lore is becoming the focus of Lord of the Rings Online: The Wolves of Mordor, the next expansion for Standing Stone Games’ MMO. When it releases in Fall 2026, as first reported by MMORPG.com, players will be introduced to three new major aspects of lore: new regions, an examination at least of Sauron’s aforementioned time as Lord of the Werewolves, and a unique introduction in the form of the Draugardh, intelligent werewolves inspired by Tolkien.
Find the odd one out before the timer hits zero.
The new unexplored regions of Mordor include Heledhris, Partha Rhavas, and Nan Ogol, each with their own distinctive biomes. Nan Ogol, for example, is a prehistoric jungle covered in Sauron’s laboratories and consequently wrecked by his experiments there. Volcanic Mountain Ranges are also obviously included, and with this background, players will face differing werewolf factions and other common Lord of the Rings enemies, creating several different groups to encounter across the new areas.
Beyond the new Lord of the Rings story and settings, the expansion will add new progression systems, new skills, new tactical abilities, new enhancements, and much more, with the core introduction of Survival Instinct also carrying forward into future Lord of the Rings Online expansions. All in all, it’s clearly chunky and worth being called an “expansion” versus just DLC.
The Wolves of Mordor’s new regions and werewolf-focused story allow Standing Stone Games to explore material that has received comparatively little attention, which is always a breath of fresh air in longstanding IPs like Lord of the Rings. While fans are still waiting to hear more from Standing Stone Games, the wait is only building anticipation, and that should be good for the beloved Lord of the Rings game in the long run.
- Released
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April 24, 2007
- ESRB
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T For Teen due to Blood and Gore, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence
- Developer(s)
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Standing Stone Games
