Lord of the Rings fans won’t have to wait too long for their next journey to the Shire.
Private Division and Wētā Workshop revealed a full trailer for Tales of the Shire on Monday, showcasing new details of the “cosy Hobbit life” game. In a news release, the companies said that Tales of the Shire is expected to launch in the second half of 2024 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, according to a news release.
The trailer shows life in the Shire, full of Hobbit friends, farming, home decoration, exploration, and plenty more. It looks a lot like Animal Crossing: New Horizons or Disney Dreamlight Valley, but make it Lord of the Rings. Tales of the Shire is set in Middle-earth’s Bywater, where the end goal is to bring the community closer with the biggest, bestest Bywater Festival. With its license from Middle-earth Enterprises, Wētā Workshop Game Studio said, the developer has “the broadest creative license to interpret the underlying lore of the books” for the video game.
Here’s how the studio describes it:
Create and personalise a Hobbit with an array of customisations to experience the world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved Middle-earth universe your own way. Settle in and decorate a cosy Hobbit home, choosing from an array of furniture and home décor to create your unique, humble abode. Then head outdoors to Bywater for plenty of cooking, fishing, foraging, gardening, and more relaxing activities in the Shire. Toss your lure to catch trout from the glistening waters of Bywater Pool, gather wild mushrooms, and then use the collected ingredients to bake a succulent pie to serve for luncheon. With a full belly, stroll back outside to explore the Shire and build relationships with the Bywater locals by helping them to build a garden, sharing one of the many daily Hobbit meals, and more.
Announced last fall, Tales of the Shire is a collaboration between Private Division and Wētā Workshop’s new in-house video games division, Wētā Workshop Game Studio. It’s one of five upcoming Lord of the Rings games that Lord of the Rings rights-holder Embracer Group announced in 2023. Embracer has been hard at work downsizing and restructuring following the breakdown of a $2 billion deal, but Tales of the Shire seems to still be on track for its 2024 release.
On Monday, ahead of the leaked trailer, Embracer Group announced it was continuing its overhaul by breaking the company into three separate entities: Asmodee Group, for tabletop; Coffee Stain & Friends, for indie games; and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends, for its Lord of the Rings titles and other AAA experiences.
Update: We’ve added further information about Tales of the Shire to this story.
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