Deliverance Dev confirms new entry in Lord of the Rings franchise and RPG

Warhorse Studios just unveiled her next two projects as a new entry into Kingdom Come: Deliverance franchise and open world lord of the rings RPG. The studio rose to prominence in 2018 as the first Kingdom Come: Deliverance game and release a sequel, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, in 2025. Co-founder Daniel Vávra worked on the first two as a designer and writer Mafia games before opening Warhorse Studios in 2011 with Martin Klíma.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance it was praised for its grounded approach to the open-world RPG genre and historical setting, but criticized for technical issues. The commitment to realistic mechanics divided critics and players, with some praising the immersion while others felt it hindered the storytelling. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 received an even more positive reception when it came out in 2025. Many saw it as a dramatic improvement over its predecessor. Both games received story expansions that made already great adventures even bigger.

New Kingdom Come and Lord of the Rings games by Warhorse Studios

In a Twitter post from Warhorse Studios' official account on May 20, the developer announced the two new ones Kingdom Come: Deliverance game and open world lord of the rings RPG. There were already rumors about it Kingdom Come: Deliverance the developer does a lord of the rings game and this announcement finally confirms it. The tweet is accompanied by a simple photo and a short statement: “We're excited to tell you more when the time is right.”

The words “Lord of the Rings” don't actually appear anywhere in the announcement. Instead, the game is billed as an “open-ended Middle-earth RPG”. Middle-earth is the backdrop for lord of the rings trilogy and The Hobbitand the wording suggests that the game will not follow the story and characters of the books or movies and will instead tell an original story within lord of the rings universe. The second game is also referred to as a Kingdom Come adventure so it is not confirmed if this is the case Kingdom Come: Deliverance 3 or spin-offs.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an RPG based adventure game set in a historical setting and notably lacking any magic or mythical creatures. Middle-earth is full of magic and monsters, so it will be interesting to see how the developers' experience translates into a real fantasy setting. It is also unknown if the Middle-earth game will feature the same complex systems as the game Kingdom Come franchise. if yes lord of the rings fans who are more of a casual gamer may be overwhelmed by such depth.

This won't be the first open world game set in space that JRR Tolkien has created. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War were open-world action-adventure games that used their trademark Nemesis System. There are even MMORPGs, The Lord of the Rings: Online. However, an open world RPG using the setting will be the first of its kind and most likely a dream come true for many fans of the franchise and something they have probably been waiting for a long time.

Released

February 4, 2025

ESRB

Adults 17+ / Use of alcohol, blood and gore, sexual content, strong language, intense violence, partial nudity

Developers

Warhorse Studios