‘Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth’ is EA’s upcoming free-to-play ‘collectible RPG’ for mobile devices

EA is working on another video game based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” works. Unlike its previous projects, though, the upcoming game called “Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth” will be released on mobile devices.

The game publisher announced “Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth” in a press release on Monday, describing it as a “collectible role-playing game.” The title will be free-to-play on mobile platforms and will be an online game as EA noted that it will require players to have a constant internet connection.

EA also confirmed that “Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth” is already in active development and is being worked on by Capital Games. The Sacramento-based developer is known for work on “Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes” currently available on Android and iOS.

“The team is filled with fans of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and each day they bring their tremendous passion and talents together to deliver an authentic experience for players,” EA VP of mobile RPG Malachi Boyle said. “The combination of high-fidelity graphics, cinematic animations, and stylized art immerses players in the fantasy of Middle-earth where they’ll go head-to-head with their favorite characters.”

The press release did not contain much information about the game’s story and gameplay. But EA confirmed that “Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth” will feature storylines and characters from the “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” series without mentioning any specific names. The game is also said to feature “immersive storytelling” and “deep collection systems” that would make it a good chance for long-time fans to rediscover the franchise.

EA also noted that this will be the first time it will publish a mobile game inspired by Tolkien’s works. Overall, this is also the first time EA will publish a “The Lord of the Rings” game since it released the action game “The Lord of the Rings: Conquest” on PC, Nintendo DS, PS3, and Xbox 360 in 2009.

There are other “The Lord of the Rings” games slated to launch on other platforms from other studios and publishers. Daedalic Entertainment is slated to release the action-adventure “The Lord of the Rings: Gollum” sometime this year. It is still unknown when EA’s free-to-play mobile game will be released, but the company said it is planning to open its first regional beta testing for “Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth” this summer.

Photo by Ergo Zakki on Unsplash