After denying rumors last year that suggested they were working on a lord of the rings game, Warhorse Studios, the team behind Kingdom Come: Deliverance The RPG series has now confirmed that it is, in fact, currently developing a Middle-earth RPG. For me, this is some of the best news I've heard all year because I'm probably a big fan as well lord of the rings like me Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Warhorse has arguably perfected the open-world RPG formula KCD series that is now being used to bring Middle-earth to life is something I've been dreaming of since I first heard the rumors, because I'm sure if anyone can finally do Tolkien's world justice in the gaming space, it's them.
But it's about a lot more than Middle-earth eventually becoming an open-world playground. As a veteran lord of the rings online player, I've experienced that seamless space fantasy world before and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. However, my confidence that Warhorse can provide a lord of the rings An open world RPG worth playing is ultimately rooted in what I've seen them do before Kingdom Come: Deliverance and how it can and probably will be carried over to Middle Earth. In general, I appreciate the developers' approach to the open world formula, and I feel like they won't abandon that philosophy and fall into the same trap that many other open world games have such trouble avoiding.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance Dev confirms new entry in Lord of the Rings franchise and RPG
Warhorse Studios confirms rumors of a new title, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, along with a new game set in the Lord of the Rings universe.
Warhorse Studios has proven that they understand the value of Discovery
It's clear that Warhorse Studios has proven their ability to create RPGs that feel authentic and grounded while still offering a playable and fun experience. With his emphasis on historical realism in Kingdom Come: Deliverance game, gives players a chance to experience what life might have really been like in medieval Bohemia, from the way people dressed and spoke to the social hierarchies, religious tensions, and daily struggles that shaped their world. But in creating such a believable world, it also showed how much he understands the value of discovery.
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Kingdom Come: Deliverance is first and foremost a world in which players can live. Sure, there's a narrative over all of this, but at the heart of the story is the ordinary hero. It's cute and charming, but it's also purposefully designed to stay out of the spotlight. Instead, it's more akin to the boots players wear as they explore Warhorse's faithful recreation of medieval Bohemia. In this context, the open world is the main character and Henry, the player, is just a side character trying to thrive in it.
Because of this, an immense amount of care was taken to make Bohemia feel like a world rather than a setting—a world that felt alive, not only because of the dynamic, routine NPCs that populated it, but also because of what players could discover when they ventured off the beaten path. Actually both Kingdom Come: Deliverance games try to make sure the main quest never gets in the way, resulting in a well-trodden path that's very easy to ignore in favor of whatever curiosity pulls you in the opposite direction. This is where Warhorse's open design shines, as exploring v Kingdom Come it rarely feels like it exists to fill the map.
So much of what is discoverable in Warhorse World is not marked on the map
Unfortunately, too many open-world games fall into the trap of turning their content into a to-do checklist rather than a hidden (or somewhat hidden) list of meaningful discoveries. Maps in these games are often littered with exclamation points and other icons that essentially tell players where to go and what to do. A lot of this probably comes from developers not wanting an open world that's empty, so they avoid negative space where and when they can by shoving another activity or collectible into it. But even then, pointless activities can make open worlds feel even emptier than they did without them. In the end, it all depends on how this negative space is used.
To be fair, there is absolutely nothing wrong with an open world game having a huge amount of activities for players to do. Rather, the error appears in how it is performed. For example, Crimson DesertAn open world can take players hundreds upon hundreds of hours to complete and still manage to keep that amount of content from being overwhelming. It achieves this by keeping most of its content on the map as a secret, encouraging players to discover it themselves. This in turn frees them from the pressure to do specific activities while ensuring that they don't feel like they are leaving something out by choosing a particular path.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is first and foremost a world in which players can live.
Warhorse's Kingdom Come: Deliverance the games are very similar in that they trust players to find the world by paying attention to it, rather than chasing every icon that appears on the map. Some of the most memorable moments in these games come from hearing something special, following a path simply because it looks interesting, wandering into a camp at the wrong time, or realizing that a seemingly ordinary NPC has a problem that can turn into a much larger story. This kind of discovery makes the world feel like a place that exists outside of the player's involvement, and it makes all the difference for an open-world RPG.
Warhorse's Middle-earth RPG may have already avoided the open-world trap
It's the history that tells me what Warhorse is up to in terms of a lord of the rings An RPG needs to avoid making Middle-earth feel like an amusement park with familiar locations and map markers. That's by far the easiest trap for a game like this, especially in a world as beloved and recognizable as Tolkien's. The temptation would be to fill the map with things players already know, point them to all the major landmarks, and make the whole thing feel like a guided tour of Middle-earth's greatest hits. But if Warhorse carries his Kingdom Come philosophy into this project, Middle-earth will probably end up feeling more like a place that players will slowly come to understand by living in it, listening to it, and letting their curiosity lead them somewhere they didn't originally plan to go.
For me, that's why Warhorse's involvement is so exciting. AND lord of the rings An open-world RPG could very easily collapse under the pressure of its own source material, especially if it swaps scale, references, and recognizable locations for memorable exploration. Warhorse has already shown that it knows how to make an open world feel full without constantly telling players where the fullness is, and that may be just what Middle-earth needs. If this new game follows that same design instinct, it may have avoided one of the genre's biggest pitfalls before players even saw it.
- Created by
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JRR Tolkien
- Where to watch
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HBO Max
- movies
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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
