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Lord of the Rings has made the transition from a groundbreaking fantasy novel to a video game screen countless times. J. R. R. Tolkien's beloved works are on their way to a new mobile game, courtesy of the controversial Electronic Arts.
Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth will be the company's first crack at adapting the franchise to mobile gaming. The EA press release broaches the gameplay, developers, and some short-term schedule for the game.
Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth: What do we know so far?
In a press release on May 9, 2022, EA announced its partnership with Middle-earth Enterprises to develop Heroes of Middle-earth. The release also outlined the company that will be heading the project.
Capital Games is a studio once known as Bioware Mobile, acquired by EA in 2011. They are best known for Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, a well-received mobile game based around the iconic sci-fi franchise. Given the similarities in premise, franchise, and title, the games will likely be comparable.
Heroes of Middle-earth is set to be a "Collectible Role-Playing Game" based around turn-based combat. The focus will be on completing the game's story mode and gathering a large roster of playable characters.
The game seems most comparable to the aforementioned Galaxy of Heroes or Plarium's Raid: Shadow Legends. The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit-themed presentation could get a ton of new fans in on this tried and true game format.
When is Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth coming out?
While a hard release date hasn't dropped, the press release does announce a beta testing period. The game is expected to begin a limited and region-locked beta release sometime this summer.
Fan reaction to the announcement
Fans are divided on this announcement. While fans of Galaxy of Heroes are thrilled to add a new game to their rotation, others were expecting a different statement.
Many expected EA to announce a remake or remaster of their adaptations of the hit films. Many were disappointed to see a mobile game, as the medium has seen a great deal of public distaste.
Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth is an EA mobile game, sewing further distrust amongst fans. Though the current reaction has been mixed, fans will have to wait and see how the game turns out in the beta test this summer.
