Electronic Arts has been granted the rights to develop games based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Since 2001, EA has developed games based exclusively on New Line’s Academy Award winning theatrical productions of The Lord of the Rings, as depicted by Peter Jackson. The expansion of the rights allows EA to introduce players to depths of the fiction never before explored in an EA game. The company also revealed today the first details of two new games in the blockbuster The Lord of the Rings series; The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II (PC) and The Lord of the Rings Tactics (PlayStation Portable).
The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II is the next PC installment to of last year’s PC hit. The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II is a sequel to the critically acclaimed Real-time Strategy (RTS) game from EA Los Angeles, The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth. The newest The Lord of the Rings PC title will introduce players to depths of the fiction never before explored by EA, in accordance with an agreement with The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises that grants EA the rights to develop games based on the books, in addition to a separate agreement that allows for games based on the New Line films. Expanding on The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth, the new RTS game will allow players to engage in heated battles with Elven and Dwarven armies plus heroes and creatures that have never been seen in a The Lord of the Rings film.
“The new rights have unlocked the world of Middle-earth for The Lord of the Rings and strategy game fans alike. We’re building a deeper, richer, bigger game based on the #1 RTS from the previous holiday season in North America with new fantasy races, places, heroes, and battles from both the books and films,” said Mike Verdu, Senior Producer of The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth at EA.
