By Matt Shore published 6 days ago
Lord of the Rings is soon to be on your phone.
(Image credit: EA)Jump to:
- What is The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth?
- What’s the story?
- What’s the gameplay like?
- When’s the closed beta?
- Is it free-to-play?
- Release date and platforms
EA has announced a partnership with Middle-earth Enterprises on the development of a new mobile title, The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth. According to the press release, the game looks to be a collectible RPG, with a focus on iconic stories from Tolkien’s universe.
The game’s announcement follows successful ventures by EA in the mobile space, with Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes developer Capital Games leading development. Whether or not this title plays in a similar way to Galaxy of Heroes remains to be seen, but with another universe of rich lore to pull from and legions of fans, the studio could well see another successful mobile release. But the game is still a ways off. Here’s what we know about it so far.
WHAT IS THE LORD OF THE RINGS: HEROES OF MIDDLE-EARTH?
The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth is a new mobile game aiming for strategy. The press release promises a “social-competitive” experience set in the world of The Lord of the Rings as you battle against evil forces in Middle-earth.
The game is created under a license from Middle-earth Enterprises, a subsidiary of The Saul Zaentz Company, which has held the rights to Tolkien’s universe since 1976. Due to the announcement of Capital Games taking the lead on the project, we can speculate that the game could play similarly to Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, but we don’t know for sure yet. Galaxy of Heroes also describes itself as a collectible RPG, with players assembling teams of their favorite characters to use in turn-based battles. With over 100 million downloads since its release, it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that Capital Games could be taking some features from their highly successful previous game to use in Heroes of Middle-earth. RECOMMENDED VIDEOS FOR YOU…
This is also the latest announcement from EA relating to its push into the mobile space, alongside the recent launch of Apex Legends Mobile, a mobile version of Respawn’s popular battle royale.
WHAT’S THE STORY?
We’re not sure right now what the story will be. That being said, the game’s announcement suggests that it will be a new story “inspired by Middle-earth as told in the literary works of J.R.R Tolkien.” Characters from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit may or may not be featured, although the announcement states the game will draw inspiration from existing storylines, so there may well be some crossover.