Warner Confirms Long-Term Lord Of The Rings Game Plans

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has confirmed that it will be releasing games based on the Lord of the Rings books and films across "multiple genres and platforms." The confirmation comes shortly after the company revealed in an E3-related email Aragorn's Quest, a family-friendly game that will have "accessible gameplay set in a friendly, colorful rendition of Middle-Earth. Players assume the role of Strider and embark on his greatest quests from The Lord of the Rings trilogy." The third-person action adventure game will be the first game released under Warner since the game rights for Lord of the Rings films transferred from EA back to Warner subsidiary New Line Cinema. EA held the license for eight years, releasing games at the peak of the popularity of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. Warner has the rights through a partnership with The Saul Zaentz Company and New Line Productions for both the literary and film rights to develop games, Warner said in a statement. Aragorn's Quest will launch this fall on Nintendo Wii, DS, PlayStation 2 and PSP. Following that game will be "multiple games across many genres designed to appeal to a wide range of unique gamers, including hard-core RPG fans and families," Warner added. Aragorn's Quest is under development by U.K.-based House of the Dead: Overkill developer Headstrong Games, while TT Fusion is developing the other versions. WBIE president Martin Tremblay said, "The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest is the first of many different types of games we will be developing with the film and literary rights. It is also the first game allowing kids and their families to interact in their favourite locations and stories from The Lord of the Rings with accessible gameplay."