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This is a list of Middle-earth video games.It includes both video games based directly on J. R. R. Tolkien's books about Middle-earth, and those derived from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films by New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. which in turn were based on Tolkien's novels of the same name.
TitleYearPublisher (s)Developer (s)The Hobbit (a.k.a. The Hobbit Software ...1982Melbourne House (Europe) Tansoft (Oric) ...Lord of the Rings: Game One (a.k.a. The ...1985Melbourne House (Europe) Addison-Wesley ...Shadows of Mordor: Game Two of Lord of ...1987Melbourne House (Europe) Addison-Wesley ...War in Middle Earth (a.k.a. J.R.R.1988Middle-earth video games, including the action role-playing hack and slash game The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, on display at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011. There are many video games that have been inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien 's works set in Middle-earth. Titles have been produced by studios such as Electronic Arts, Vivendi ...
Aug 22, 2023 · All Middle-Earth Games in Chronological Order Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor (2014) ©Screenshot of gameplay. 2014’s Shadow of Mordor took players on a wild journey through Mordor’s dark underbelly, something they hadn’t seen much of in other forms of media. Players assume the role of Talion, a ranger who is brutally murdered along with ...
Jul 11, 2024 · Rough chronological order of the main games set in Tolkien's Middle Earth . Follow Share. 32. games. 325 hrs. HowLongToBeat™ ...
- Overview
- Official games
- Unofficial games
- References
- External links
The majority of computer and video games owing to J.R.R. Tolkien's works are based mainly on or influenced by The Lord of the Rings films; only some are based solely on Tolkien's canon of Middle-earth. From the early 1980's onward, numerous video games set in Middle-earth have been developed, including titles by Electronic Arts, Sierra, and Melbour...
Early efforts
In 1982 began a series of licensed The Lord of the Rings graphical interactive fiction games with The Hobbit, based on the book of the same name. They went on to release 1986's The Fellowship of the Ring, 1987's The Shadows of Mordor, and 1990's The Crack of Doom. A BBC Micro text adventure released around the same time was unrelated to Melbourne's titles except for the literary origin. In 1987, Melbourne House released War in Middle-earth, a turn-based strategy game, followed by its sequel Riders of Rohan. In 1990, Interplay, in collaboration with Electronic Arts (who would later obtain the licenses to the film trilogy), released The Lord of the Rings Vol. 1 (a special CD-ROM version of which featured cut-scenes from Ralph Bakshi's animated adaptation) and next year's Lord of the Rings Vol. II: The Two Towers, a series of role-playing games based on the events of the first two books. A third installment was planned, but never released because Interplay couldn't decide whether to do it as an RPG like the first two, or as a strategy game. Interplay's games mostly appeared on the PC and but later they did a Lord of the Rings game for the SNES, which played nothing like their PC games and instead was more like The Legend of Zelda.
Film trilogy revival
Thereafter, no official The Lord of the Rings titles were released until the making of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy for New Line Cinema in 2001-2003, when mass-market awareness of the story appeared. Electronic Arts obtained the licenses for the three films, although they only produced games for The Two Towers and The Return of the King. Sierra Entertainment, having lost out on the film licenses, obtained the license to produce games based on the books (as opposed to the film trilogy) from Tolkien Enterprises instead, entitling them to use the story, but not material from the film. This gave rise to an unusual situation. Electronic Arts produced no adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring, but Sierra did. However, they did produce adaptations of The Two Towers and The Return of the King. This produced an unofficial "complete trilogy" of games. Sierra's entry to the series received average reviews, and Electronic Arts' entries received rave reviews, although Peter Jackson has criticized EA for leaving him out of the development process and has declared that he is unhappy with the quality of the titles. While Sierra Entertainment's access to the book rights prevented them from using material from the film, it permitted them to include elements of the Lord of the Rings books that were not in the films. EA, on the other hand, were not permitted to do this, as they were only licensed to develop games based on the films, which left out elements of the original story or deviated in places. Fans' opinions differ on the better of the two styles. Some prefer EA's action-oriented hack and slash-style games, which tend to pass on large segments of the story and place a reliance on film clips and the film's music, citing the almost cinematic quality that the game produces as similar to the film. Others preferred the Sierra adventure title, which, while featuring less action and epic battles than the EA title, cover the story in greater detail and offer a more cerebral challenge. Sierra's consequent adaptation of The Hobbit also received average reviews. It is unknown which developer/publisher would assume the task of adapting a film version of The Hobbit to a video game, especially since Jackson chose to work with Michel Ancel and Ubisoft on King Kong in light of his displeasure with EA. Eventually in 2005, EA was able to secure the rights to both the films and the books, thus the Battle for Middle-earth II incorporates elements of a Northern Campaign only alluded to in the books.
Post-film trilogy efforts
The popularity of real-time strategy (RTS) titles led Sierra and Electronic Arts to independently produce two RTS games. Sierra produced The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring in 2003, based on the books. The title was well received by the press, but some criticized the derivative nature of the game. Some fans also took issue with the many liberties taken with the source material. A year later, EA released The Battle for Middle-earth, based on the films. The title was given rave reviews in the gaming media and sold well. However, as with War of the Ring, some fans took issue with the liberties taken with the books. EA then released a console RPG in 2004 entitled The Third Age, based on the universe portrayed in the films, though not the original story. It was based on an original story that runs parallel to the events of the movies. The game received average reviews, with many quoting the poor quality of the story in relation to its source. The game also contains a range of unrelated situations that divert from the original plot, such as the final melee combat versus the Eye of Sauron. In July 2005, EA was granted the rights to develop games based on the books, alongside the separate agreement for games based on the New Line Cinema films. EA released The Battle for Middle-earth II on March 2 2006. While it sold well, some fans, as ever, took issue with the liberties taken with the books, as with its predecessor. That November, EA released a PSP-exclusive title, The Lord of the Rings: Tactics. In October, 2006, an expansion pack for The Battle for Middle-earth II was released, called The Rise of the Witch-king, focusing on the war between the Witch-king and Arnor. A MMORPG expansion by Turbine, Inc. entitled The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, endorsed by Tolkien Enterprises, was released on April 24, 2007. In June 2022, developer Free Range Games and publisher North Beach Games announced the coming of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria. It is due to release in 2023 exclusively on PC, through the Epic Games Store. It will be the only survival crafting video game set in the Fourth Age of Middle-earth. Summoned to the Misty Mountains by Lord Gimli Lockbearer, players take control of a company of Dwarves tasked to reclaim the lost spoils of Khazad-dûm in the depths below their very feet.
Aside from officially licensed games, unofficial games have also been made. Two of the longest-lasting are Angband, an open-source game based loosely on The Silmarillion, and Multi-Users in Middle-earth (MUME), a MUD based on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Another is Shadows of Isildur, a free to play RPI MUD. Having started in the year 2460 of the Third Age, SoI allows its players to become a character on the side of either Gondor, or Mordor.
Many Tolkien-inspired addon mods, custom maps and total conversion mods have been made for many games. An overview of some notable examples:
It is important to note that legal action was threatened against MERP (Middle-Earth Roleplaying Project), a mod designed to convert the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim into Middle-Earth, suggesting a future game on the same scale as Skyrim may be released.
1.Thorsen, Tor (October 26, 2005). Report: Peter Jackson displeased with Lord of the Rings games. Retrieved on 2006-05-23.
2.Paulsen, Jakob (June 3, 2003). War of the Ring impressions. Retrieved on 2006-05-23.
3.Adams, Dan (December 3, 2004). The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth. Retrieved on 2006-05-23.
4.Unveiling Tales of the Shire on YouTube.com
•Category: J.R.R. Tolkien games at MobyGames
Apr 13, 2024 · The Hobbit. Beam Software. The Lord of the Rings: Game One. Beam Software. The Shadows of Mordor. Beam Software. J.R.R. Tolkien's War in Middle-earth. Synergistic Software. The Crack of Doom.
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Aug 24, 2022 · There are dozens of games based on Tolkien's world, and, while many are obviously rushed cash grabs, others are works of passion that have garnered popularity and love from the fans over the years. Updated on August 23rd, 2022 by Melody MacReady : Fans are excited to dive back into the world of Middle-Earth once again with The Rings Of Power released on Prime Video to tell a story within the ...
