This is a list of Middle-earth video games. It includes both video games based directly on J. R. R. Tolkien's books about Middle-earth, and those derived from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films by New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. which in turn were based on Tolkien's novels of the same name. Note that some titles advertised as ports for the most disparate platforms were in fact greatly or completely different games, organized as separate projects, or by independent studios.
Title | Year | Publisher(s) | Developer(s) | Platforms |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Lord of the Rings Online TCG [64] [65] | 2003 | Decipher, Inc. Sony Online Entertainment | Worlds Apart | Web browser |
The Hobbit: Dwarf Combat Training [66] | 2012 | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | Sticky Studios [67] | |
The Hobbit: Armies of The Third Age [68] | 2013 | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Kabam | Kabam | |
The Hobbit: A Journey through Middle-earth [69] | 2013 | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | North Kingdom [70] | Google Chrome |
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Barrel Escape [71] | 2013 | Sticky Studios [72] | Web browser | |
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Spiders of Mirkwood [72] | 2013 | Trigger | ||
The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies - Orc Attack [73] | 2014 | SMG Studio |
The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel by the English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.
Gandalf is a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. He is a wizard, one of the Istari order, and the leader of the Company of the Ring. Tolkien took the name "Gandalf" from the Old Norse "Catalogue of Dwarves" (Dvergatal) in the Völuspá.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 epic high fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Jackson, based on 1954's The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. The film is the first instalment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It features an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, and Andy Serkis.
Among the motion pictures of Middle-earth in various formats, The Lord of the Rings is a trilogy of epic fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson, based on the novel The Lord of the Rings by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are titled identically to the three volumes of the novel: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003). Produced and distributed by New Line Cinema with the co-production of WingNut Films, the films feature an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis, and Sean Bean.
Trolls are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, and feature in films and games adapted from his novels. They are portrayed as monstrously large humanoids of great strength and poor intellect. In The Hobbit, like the dwarf Alviss of Norse mythology, they must be below ground before dawn or turn to stone, whereas in The Lord of the Rings they are able to face daylight.
Middle-earth Enterprises, formerly known as Tolkien Enterprises, is a subdivision of the Embracer Freemode division of Embracer Group and formerly a trade name for a division of The Saul Zaentz Company. The subdivision owns the worldwide exclusive rights to certain elements of J. R. R. Tolkien's two most famous literary works: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. These elements include the names of characters contained within as well as the names of places, objects and events within them, and certain short phrases and sayings from the works.
The Lord of the Rings Online is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Microsoft Windows and previously for OS X, set in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, taking place during the time period of The Lord of the Rings. Originally developed by Turbine, the game launched in North America, Australia, Japan, and Europe in April 2007 as The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. Players could create characters of four races and seven classes and adventure throughout the region of Eriador. In November 2008, the Mines of Moria expansion was released, adding the region of Moria and two new playable classes. It was followed by the Siege of Mirkwood in December 2009. In 2010 the game underwent a shift from its original subscription-based payment model to being free-to-play.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2002 action-adventure video game developed by WXP for the Xbox. Two additional versions were developed by Pocket Studios for Game Boy Advance and by Surreal Software for PlayStation 2 and Windows. The game was published by Vivendi Universal Games under their Black Label Games publishing label. In North America, it was released for Xbox and Game Boy Advance in September, and for PlayStation 2 and Windows in October. In Europe, it was released for Xbox, Windows and Game Boy Advance in November, and for PlayStation 2 in December.
There are many video games that have been inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien's works set in Middle-earth. Titles have been produced by studios such as Electronic Arts, Vivendi Games, Melbourne House, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
Gollum is a monster with a distinctive style of speech in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world of Middle-earth. He was introduced in the 1937 fantasy novel The Hobbit, and became important in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings. Gollum was a Stoor Hobbit of the River-folk who lived near the Gladden Fields. In The Lord of the Rings, it is stated that he was originally known as Sméagol, corrupted by the One Ring, and later named Gollum after his habit of making "a horrible swallowing noise in his throat".
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings and one of the protagonists in The Lord of the Rings. Frodo is a hobbit of the Shire who inherits the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins, described familiarly as "uncle", and undertakes the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom in Mordor. He is mentioned in Tolkien's posthumously published works, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.
The One Ring, also called the Ruling Ring and Isildur's Bane, is a central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1954–55). It first appeared in the earlier story The Hobbit (1937) as a magic ring that grants the wearer invisibility. Tolkien changed it into a malevolent Ring of Power and re-wrote parts of The Hobbit to fit in with the expanded narrative. The Lord of the Rings describes the hobbit Frodo Baggins's quest to destroy the Ring and save Middle-earth.
Hobitit is a nine-part Finnish live action fantasy television miniseries directed by Timo Torikka, originally broadcast in 1993 on Yle TV1.
J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954–55), set in his fictional world of Middle-earth, have been the subject of numerous motion picture adaptations across film and television.
Lego The Lord of the Rings is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales, that was released on Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Vita, Microsoft Windows, Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The OS X version of the game, published by Feral Interactive, was released on 21 February 2013.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is an American fantasy television series developed by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay for the streaming service Amazon Prime Video. Based on J. R. R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth, primarily material from the appendices of the novel The Lord of the Rings, the series is set thousands of years before the novel and depicts the major events of Middle-earth's Second Age. It is produced by Amazon MGM Studios in association with New Line Cinema.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is an action-adventure game developed by Daedalic Entertainment, which also published the game with Nacon. The game, set in the fictional world of Middle-earth created by J. R. R. Tolkien, takes place in between the events of The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring. The player controls Gollum through a series of locations, such as Cirith Ungol, Barad-dûr, and Mirkwood, as he attempts to find Bilbo Baggins and retake the One Ring whilst battling and avoiding Sauron. It was announced in March 2019 and delayed from its September 2021 launch window.
"The Shadow of the Past" is the second chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's bestselling fantasy work, The Lord of the Rings, which was published in 1954–1955. Tolkien called it "the crucial chapter"; the Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey labelled it "the vital chapter". This is because it represents both the moment that Tolkien devised the central plot of the book, and the point in the story where the protagonist, Frodo Baggins, and the reader realise that there will be a quest to destroy the Ring. A sketch of it was among the first parts of the book to be written, early in 1938; later that year, it was one of three chapters of the book that he drafted. In 1944, he returned to the chapter, adding descriptions of Gollum, the Ring, and the hunt for Gollum.
Lego The Lord of the Rings is a Lego theme based on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson and the novel by the English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. It is licensed from Warner Bros., New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The theme was first introduced in 2012. The first sets appeared in 2012, to coincide with a release of the video game Lego The Lord of the Rings. Subsequent sets based on The Hobbit film trilogy would also be released and the video game Lego The Hobbit was released in 2014. The product line was discontinued by the end of 2015. Later, the theme was relaunched in January 2023 with three new sets released as the part of the Lego BrickHeadz theme. In February 2023, The Lego Group unveiled a new Rivendell set that released on 8 March 2023 as the part of the Lego Icons theme. Further, a Barad-Dûr set released on 1 June 2024, also as part of the Icons theme.
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is a 2023 survival-crafting video game developed by Free Range Games and published by North Beach Games on October 24, 2023. It is based on the fictional world of Middle-earth created by J. R. R. Tolkien and takes place during its Fourth Age after the events of the Lord of the Rings novels. It follows a company of dwarves as they try to retake their homeland Moria and restore the long-lost ancient kingdom of Khazad-dûm. The game received mixed reviews from critics.
Commodore 64 Battle Chess, Windows Battle Chess, Amiga Battle Chess II, Amiga Lord of the Rings, and Windows Shanghai were some of our early projects.