More classic Lord of the Rings games will be making a comeback following the release of Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition. The recent launch has been met well by Lord of the Rings fans thus far, so that may bode well for what’s to come.
Lord of the Rings games have been around since the early 1980s, with some of the earliest examples launching for systems like the Apple II and Commodore 64. After a lull during the 1990s, the series saw a huge resurgence after the turn of the century with the release of the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films. Many of the Lord of the Rings games that came out during this period of time were praised by fans and critics, so there’s a good chance nostalgic gamers would like to see their return on modern systems.
More Lord of the Rings Games Are Returning
News of a potential re-release of Lord of the Rings: War in the North originally leaked in July, and turned out to be reality when the game released in August. Now, alongside its release, publisher Aspyr has revealed that it won’t be the last Lord of the Rings game to be returning by way of the publisher. The publisher teased that other “classic releases” from the franchise would launch in the future, but didn’t go so far as to name what other titles it’s currently working on. So far, Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition has received positive reviews on Steam, and is also available on platforms like Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch.
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As noted, there have been dozens of Lord of the Rings games over the years, so it may be difficult to narrow down exactly what Aspyr intends to release next. However, Lord of the Rings: War in the North was originally published by Warner Bros. Interactive. Warner Bros mostly released Lord of the Rings games in the 2010s, including Aragorn’s Quest, Guardians of Middle-earth, LEGO The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, as well as Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and sequel Shadow of War. Popular Lord of the Rings games released prior to 2010 were largely produced by Electronics Arts, though Aspyr also worked on publishing EA’s Lord of the Rings: Return of the King for Mac devices back in the early 2000s.
If Aspyr is limited to the Warner Bros-published catalog of Lord of the Rings video games, it’s possible the studio may work on something like Guardians of Middle-earth next. Like Lord of the Rings: War in the North, the game previously released on Steam, but is no longer available to purchase. Though a remaster of something like the LEGO Lord of the Rings games or the Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor series might not be out of the question, those games are currently available to buy on Steam.
Not every Lord of the Rings game was popular or successful, with Lord of the Rings: War in the North originally receiving mixed reviews from critics and gamers. However, Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition includes a number of tweaks that have been well-received by fans, like the ability to freely swap between the three characters in solo play, or autosaves and extra save slots. It’s quite possible that even some of the more overlooked Lord of the Rings games in Warner Bros.’ back catalog could do well with similar treatment, but for now, fans will have to wait to see what Aspyr cooks up next.
