At the Summer Game Fest showcase, Free Range Games released a brief gameplay trailer for the nextLord of the Ringsvideo game.The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moriawill whisk players to the Fourth Age of Middle-earth for a brand-new survival crafting experience. It seems to be likeDeep Rock Galacticset in Tolkien’s world and could be a lot of fun. However, it is also coming at a time when theLord of the Ringsfanbase may have lost some faith in the IP.
TheLord of the Rings: Return to Moriawill be the secondLord of the Ringsgame to launch in 2023, and it needs to exceed expectations. The franchise is fresh off theincredibly disappointingTheLord of the Rings: Gollumand the controversialTheRings of Power. While fans want to experience Middle-earth in all its glory, the current franchise trajectory does not seem to be delivering on that potential. That may putReturn to Moriain a very difficult position, and its fate could have already been decided.
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Lord of the Rings is in a Bit of a Tough Spot
Afterthe success ofMiddle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, fans were very excited to see where Middle-earth video games would go. WhileThe Hobbitseries did not live up toThe Lord of the Rings, it still felt like the franchise was in a pretty healthy place. However, things seem to have quickly fallen apart after the release ofMiddle-earth: Shadow of War, and it has not really recovered since.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Warwas heavily criticized for its microtransaction model and its lackluster story, and it would take six years beforeanother majorLord of the Ringsvideo gamehit store shelves.TheLord of the Rings: Gollumwas critically panned upon release as a boring, buggy mess. The developers ended up releasing an apology for the game’s state shortly after release, butLord of the Ringsfans had already moved on.
Lord of the Ringshas not only struggled in the video game space recently, but it has also struggled to gain an audience forits first live-action showTheRings of Power. What was supposed to be this expansive exploration of Middle-earth’s Second Age ended up being pretty mediocre. Only 37 percent of United States viewers actually finished season one, and only 45 percent of international viewers made it to the end. It had a strong debut, but most people seemed to have quickly lost interest as it progressed.
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moriais the franchise’s chance to prove itself once again.The Hobbitwas disappointing, theLord of the Ringsvideo games have been arguably disappointing, andTheRings of Powerfailed to make an impact. There is a lot stacked up againstReturn to Moria, and if it does not succeed then it could be the final nail in the coffin. WhileLord of the Ringsgames will likely continueto release, they may be fewer and far between. That puts a lot of pressure onReturn to Moriato deliver, and it may be impossible to match those expectations.
Players have only gotten a brief glimpse atThe Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, and a concrete release date has not been revealed yet. There is a chance it gets delayed due toTheLord of the Rings: Gollum’s reception, but fans will just have to wait and see. More gameplay will likely be released as the release date nears, and it is hopefully able to succeed where its predecessors have failed.
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moriawill be available in 2023 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S
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