When it comes to The Lord of the Rings, you’re almost assuredly better off rewatching the Peter Jackson trilogy of films or reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s original works because when it comes to video games, there isn’t much and a lot of them (*cough* Gollum) have not been very good.
However, had Eidos-Montréal had its way, that perception could have changed. The studio, which experienced two sets of layoffs in 2025
and has largely been supported by outsourced projects from Microsoft, was working on a Telltale-inspired Lord of the Rings title that would’ve had card-game mechanics.
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It was unfortunately, canceled, and now, via a new report from MP1st, we have our best look at what the studio was aiming for.
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To start, the main setting, which comes via details from an artist’s portfolio, would have been Umbar. For those not in the know, the Tolkien Gateway describes it as “a realm on the coast south of Gondor in Middle Earth. It included a great cape and a land-locked firth, which formed a natural haven.”
The game would likely have maintained a top-down view, and at least one familiar location, The Prancing Pony, would have been featured. A video included in the portfolio showcases Umbar before and after its fall, a central event central to its identity.
Beyond detailing what the world would have looked like, there is a set of three gameplay screens that offer a look at how things would have played out. There is a sense of verticality, with ladders taking players up and down the area, as well as what appears to be enemies blocking the pathways.
As MP1st notes, it’s difficult to try and understand how those rumored card-game mechanics would have worked based off what is shown. What is clear is that a lot of effort was made into making the world look as close to the source material as possible.
The last significant LOTR game-related update came in September, when it was reported that a title that is designed to compete with Hogwarts Legacy is currently in the works. In the meantime, The Lord of the Rings Online has never looked better if that’s more your speed.
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