Deliverance Developer Teases Its Open World Lord of the Rings RPG

Key Points:

• Warhorse Studios, known for Kingdom Come: Deliverance, confirmed it is developing an open-world RPG set in the Lord of the Rings universe, though no specific timeline for release has been provided, indicating the game is likely years away.
• The Middle-earth project is led by Viktor Bocan, design director of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and is described as a "passion project" with a focus on a deeply immersive, living world featuring strong narrative elements and memorable characters.
• Warhorse aims to establish itself as a leading RPG developer by leveraging the successful formula from Kingdom Come, creating a proper expansive RPG in the Lord of the Rings franchise, which has previously seen mostly action/adventure, MMO, and strategy games.
• The game’s development coincides with a resurgence of interest in the Lord of the Rings franchise, including upcoming projects like the live-action film The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum and another film, The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past, scripted by Stephen Colbert.
• Warhorse emphasizes creative freedom and trust in their development process, aiming to differentiate themselves from larger studios by focusing on projects they are passionate about.