Franchise file / J. R. R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings

Tolkien's world, played every way

J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth reached games in 1982 with Beam Software's The Hobbit. Since then it has hosted strategy, action RPGs, an MMO, LEGO adventures and a cosy hobbit life sim.

Explore the franchise

1982
First game: 2
Series: J. R. R. Tolkien
Creator

In the frameMiddle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

One world. Many eras.

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Rival licences. EA held the Peter Jackson films and turned them into brawlers and the Battle for Middle-earth strategy games. Vivendi worked from the books, so two versions of Tolkien ran side by side.

Start with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Your next late night

The essentials

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Chapters

Series (2)

Middle-earthMonolith's Middle-earth action games, Shadow of Mordor (2014) and Shadow of War (2017), known for the Nemesis system that gives enemies memories.

The road goes ever onThe Lord of the RingsA broad line of games carrying the Lord of the Rings name, from Beam Software's 1980s adventures to film tie-ins, co-op action RPGs and Tales of the Shire.

A legacy worth revisiting

One does not simply pick a genre.

Few settings have been stretched this far. Middle-earth has been a text adventure, a real-time strategy war, an online world and an open-world revenge story in Mordor. The maps stay familiar, but the way you walk them keeps changing.

2002 to 2006
Rival licences: 2007 to 2012
Into the wider world: 2014 to 2017
Monolith's Mordor

Scenes that stay with you

Inside the world

Select a frame to expand it.

All franchises

Explore the genre Try Game of Thrones Try LEGO

Choose your chapter

The essentials

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor