In the latest annual financial report from Swedish holding company Embracer Group, the purchase price for its newly acquired Middle-earth IP has been revealed as US $395 million. This is nearly double what Amazon paid for the TV rights to LOTR, and includes everything outside those TV rights — movies, music, merch, games and theme parks.
According to Variety, Embracer also reports “several world-class products” from The Lord of the Rings are in the works. These include the already announced new Warner Bros / New Line Cinema deal for several new films, and an original online MMO RPG persistent world game set in the Third Age from Amazon Games.
It should be noted that Middle-earth Enterprises (MEE) were already making big moves before the acquisition. The newly licensed Magic: The Gathering card game The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, five new video games including Gollum Game and a new Weta Digital LOTR game, as well as merch trademarks for Rings of Power were all in process before the Embracer acquisition of MEE from The Saul Zaentz Company.
Interestingly, the Embracer annual report says there was a cash payment of $267 million for Middle-earth Enterprises, implying that the extra $130 million could be performance-based rewards or stock in the new owner. Saul Zaentz, the enterprising filmmaker, music producer and deal maker, owned the rights that enabled all the films and games over the last 50 years. Rumors last year had the rights valued at $2 billion, nearly 5x the actual acquisition price. This may be how much Embracer expects to make from Middle-earth. For comparison, Peter Jackson’s Hobbit and LOTR films have made nearly $10 billion in box office, home video, games and merch.
Middle-earth returns to card decks worldwide with the new officially licensed The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth sets. Wizards of the Coast, owners of Magic: The Gathering, streamed a first look at many of the LOTR cards, mechanics, characters and artwork arriving in June.
It’s time to embark on a different sort of journey as Magic presents characters, locations, and epic moments from the epic fantasy novels of J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ is packed with exciting new cards and a few marquee keywords and mechanics to review. So, gather your Fellowship, pack your lembas, and let’s head out to learn more about the new set.
For old fans returning to Magic: The Gathering, many will appreciate this announcement – Wizards has licensed artwork from Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings, as “Secret Lair” variant cards!
Frodo himself, Elijah Wood, got a sneak peek at the cards!
Some of our favorite Tolkien fans – Don Marshall, Trisha Hershberger, and Nerd of the Rings!
Some of the cards have generated immense conversation on social media, which is a signing of increasing popularity. These LOTR decks are selling extremely well on pre-orders, and tons of fans can’t wait to get their hands on them. Wizards of the Coast provided this quote to Kotaku about the fresh artistic interpretations of Middle-earth:
Diversity:The Lord of the Rings is about the different peoples of Middle-earth coming together to fight Sauron, finding strength in their diversity. Fans of all backgrounds have been enjoying these stories, characters, and locations for decades, and we wanted this set to reflect on that broad inclusion. Originality: The goal of this set is to express the story and setting of The Lord of the Rings through Magic: The Gathering Countless prior efforts have painted vivid pictures of this world, but our goal is a modern take on the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, lovingly crafted for an ever-expanding fandom.
Get Aragorn with Anduril, and the rest of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth card packs, everywhere June 23, 2023. Support local game shops and pre-order with them.
UPDATE:
Staffer Demosthenes here with a quick update on behalf of Justin.
First, there will be a expansion featuring cards based on Hildebrandt Tolkien artwork in November. Second, the Bakshi Secret Lair will only be available from The Wizards of the Coast website — so if you want it go looking there!
Finally, Amazon also has a number of special booster packs for pre-order. The big Booster Box is currently unavailable, but you can still pre-order small packs (of 15 cards) at the time of writing. Hopefully I got that all correct! Oh, and there’s a lot of discussion of the new MTG LOTR cards happening on our Discord so feel free to drop by and join in at discord.gg/TheOneRing.
It’s an exciting time for Middle-earth fans who are gamers, as rumours and discussion abound of possible future video games. But forget what may come in the future: Daedalic Entertainment’s The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is here! Release day for this long-expected game is tomorrow, May 25th; and the good folks at Daedalic have given TORn an exclusive video to share, in anticipation!
Some of the designers behind the game discuss level design, diving deeper and giving insight into the world building process. Take a look:
Amazon Games, developers of the acclaimed New World online RPG game, are heading development of a new multiplayer The Lord of the Rings video game.
Embracer, the fresh new owners of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, are licensing the Middle-earth MMO gaming rights to Amazon Games, whose first and only game, New World, was a big bold swing into a crowded massive-multiplayer-gaming space against Grand Theft Auto, Minecraft, World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV, No Man’s Sky, and of course LOTRO.
This new LOTR MMO game will be a persistent open world Middle-earth set in the third age, but not based or connected to Amazon’s billion-dollar The Rings of Power TV series. Development is currently planning to launch on PC and console.
Reviews for Amazon’s New World currently sit at 6/10 on Steam with 200,000+ reviews, and a Metacritic score of 70. Metacritic is basically Rotten Tomatoes for video games, averaging review scores from professionals and the community. From what we have read, New World was praised for good modern graphics and multiplayer engagement, but with a limited set of innovative game mechanics.
This new game is unrelated to the cancelled LOTR online MMO game that was being developed in China. Amazon is building this in-house with its team from an earlier acquisition of Double Helix, a successful studio responsible for many franchise spinoff games like Enter the Matrix, Star Wars Episode III, Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb, Killer Instinct, G.I. Joe, Silent Hill, and more.
Fans may welcome a next-gen Lord of the Rings MMO experience, as one of the common knocks on the hugely successful (and still updating) LOTRO is the dated graphics. Amazon Games will have their work cut out for them to differentiate from Peter Jackson’s cinematic world, Standing Stone Games’ deep lore gaming in LOTRO, and the future secrets from The Rings of Power. LOTRO is still one of the best reviewed MMO games, even after 16 years of fresh expansions.
Just unveiled at MagicCon Minneapolis is the new multi-card panorama artwork of Bilbo’s birthday party for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, a new card game from the makers of Magic: The Gathering.
Created by artist Livia Prima, the series of 6 randomly-packed cards can be collected to reveal a whole party diorama. Details of the character cards include in-game stats and play actions.
Above: Birthday party cards available in random pack card sets.
The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ Arrives June 23, 2023
The Lord of the Rings has come to Magic: The Gathering, and it’s time to take familiar favorites on a whole new journey there and back again. In the upcoming set The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™, players have the chance to join the Fellowship in adventures filled with valor, courage, and second breakfast. Play your favorite moments of the third age or turn Middle-earth on its head and surrender to the temptation of the Precious. Either way; Middle-earth is in your hands.
The set has two primary launch windows—June 2023 and a holiday launch in November 2023—and is the first full set release as part of Universes Beyond, bringing the iconic world of J.R.R. Tolkien to life within the Magic frame. The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth is modern legal and comprised of Draft, Set, Collector, and Jumpstart Boosters, four Commander decks, a Starter Kit, a Bundle and Gift Bundle, Scene Boxes, and Secret Lair drops. For more information on which specific products are coming in June 2023, check out this article on DailyMTG.
The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth will also come to Magic: The Gathering Arena with all of the same cards as the tabletop release. The set will be legal in Alchemy and Historic formats and receive the same support as a full release, including a preorder, Mastery Pass, and cosmetics.
Set for May 10 Release, Reveals New Gameplay Trailer
Pre-Registration Available Now, Full Launch on iOS and Android on May 10, 2023
EA and Capital Games, experts in RPG mobile gaming based on beloved franchises, announced the upcoming launch date for The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth, releasing a new gameplay trailer in celebration of the news. The latest video provides an extended look at the turn-based strategy combat for the free-to-download mobile RPG based on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit works by J.R.R. Tolkien. The game will be launching on May 10, 2023 on Apple devices via iOS and Android-based mobile devices, but fans and players can pre-register now.
Showcasing the first official gameplay footage for The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth since the game’s reveal last year, the trailer gives fans and mobile game players a sneak peak into a stylized realism art style. Wanderers, warriors, wizards, and others show how the game leans on the existing lore to capture the essence of The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit; creating new stories from the Tolkien universe while also expanding it to create a more diverse and inclusive Middle-earth. The video also demonstrates Story, PVP, and other gameplay modes.
Pre-registration for The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth is currently open here for players looking to be the first to know more about the upcoming launch, receive behind-the-scenes content, exclusive offers, and more!
As the player discovers a mysteriously abandoned new Ring of Power, visions of their potential journey flash before our eyes – battles and adventures feature beloved and classic characters. Glimpses of the player menus detail hero preparation, team building, and exciting campaign selections. Customization, leveling, the turn-based combat, and much more is in store.
More on The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth:
The upcoming mobile game from EA Mobile and Capital Games will present new ways for fans and new players alike to experience beloved elements of the IP while creating their own novel experiences comes via the re-imagined “styled realism” The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth art style – highlighting the animated, fantastical and magical elements of our characters and world while remaining grounded in reality; and also allowing players to experience the stories “between the lines” of the original canon to expand on Tolkien’s texts.
