Middle-earth Enterprises is going to make a big push into video games again. Lee Guinchard, CEO of Embracer Freemode, a part of Embracer Group, revealed intentions to create a gaming series for multiple platforms based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s popular Lord of the Rings universe.
All of this was revealed in an incredibly long interview by Venture Beat with Lee Guinchard, but we’ll focus on what concerns video games. Amazon Games has officially announced that it is developing a new Lord of the Rings MMO. The game will allow players to explore various locations and storylines from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings in a massive Middle-earth setting. This isn’t the old MMO, but a new one.
Additional Lord of the Rings games are in the works beyond the MMO. Details on these projects are limited, but Embracer Freemode wants to create a unified gaming experience within the franchise. This suggests possible connections and continuity across the upcoming titles. I’m waiting for more Middle-earth-type titles that utilize the Nemesis system. It seems like that was trademarked just to never be used again.
Embracer Freemode is also trying out new ways to develop games. Lee Guinchard has said they are open to using content created by users and even artificial intelligence in game design. However, making these features work well is still difficult. That’s not all that surprising.
Embracer Group does not currently own the rights to The Silmarillion, a work by Tolkien that works as the prequel to The Hobbit and sets up the world of The Lord of the Rings. However, if they agree with the Tolkien Estate, it could pave the way for future games based on this earlier work. It’s one of those things that is really iffy. Either way, Embracer is pushing this in a big way, and we may see Lord of the Rings become a huge player in video games.
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