It has been announced today that the renowned New Zealand special effects company WēTā Workshop has teamed up with Private Division to develop a new game set in the Middle-earth universe. The fantasy world created by the late great J.R.R. Tolkien has seen many types of interpretations over years, from his own books and the consequent films to the upcoming television series and countless games.
Private Division is a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, and it was Private Division that announced the news today on its official website about the agreement between the two studios. WēTā Workshop is best known for its work on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and as we all know, these turned out to be quite the success.
The New Zealand studio founded an interactive games division in 2014, and with Private Division’s help, they now want to develop a new game that is set in Middle Earth – we’re on board here anyway, whatever it is. If you don’t know, Middle-earth Enterprises has licensed the literary works of the series and have provided WēTā Workshop with the broadest creative license, which allows them to get inventive with the overall lore of the books – free reign, you might say.
Head of Private Division Michael Worosz spoke about the news today on the official website, talking about how the company is thrilled to partner with such a wonderful company like WēTā Workshop. “It is thrilling to publish a game set in such an extraordinary and celebrated world. The Lord of the Rings IP is home to so many remarkable stories, and no entity is better equipped than the team at WēTā Workshop to create a distinctive, new Middle-earth gaming experience,” explained Worosz. It definitely has the potential to be something very exciting, and with all that scope that is at their disposal, who knows what kind of IP we could be receiving?
It wasn’t just the people over at Private Division that commented on this exciting news though because WēTā Workshop’s hard-working conglomerate had their say on the partnership. Head of Interactive at WēTā Workshop, Amie Wolken also spoke about the potential new game. “It’s a privilege to create a new game set in Middle-earth, especially one that’s so different from what fans have played previously,” she said.
The variety of games that have used the Middle-earth setting has been incredibly varied, ranging from EA’s hack and slash games from the 2000s to the open-world RPGs like Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its successor, and even the upcoming action-adventure video game The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.
This partnership has the potential to create something new, and something that fans have been wanting for some time, as well as opening the door to a huge area of new fans who need to experience this fantasy world. The title is in early development and does not yet have a release date, but it is expected to launch during Take-Two’s Fiscal Year 2024. Stay tuned for more updates about this game–there’s surely a lot to be revealed.
