UPDATE: Last night Private Division and Wētā Workshop officially revealed Tales of the Shire, you can read more about it here.
Original news
Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings is a new joint project of Private Division and Wētā Workshop that should deliver something completely new - a relaxed adventure set in Tolkien's Middle-earth in which we will most likely find ourselves in the role of Hobbit. Apart from a kind of hint that the story of the game, or at least part of it, could take place in the Shire, there is still very little information about this achievement, however, recently new teasers for this game appeared on X.
Imagine living in the Shire, tending your crops and decorating your hobbit house. That could be the basic formula for an upcoming game set in the world of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Announced on International Hobbit Day 2022 (yes, there is such a day), Tales of the Shire should also get its first real trailer very soon.
As you might expect, Tales of the Shire diverges from the epic battle of good versus evil portrayed in The Lord of the Rings. Nevertheless, this narrative holds its own intrigue, reminiscent of other games like those in the Middle-Earth series and Lord of the Rings Online, along with the cult film adaptations by director Peter Jackson. Instead, the upcoming title is described as “a cozy game set in the world of Middle-earth, inspired by the books of J.R.R. Tolkien".
One of the problems is that very little information is available about the game. We know that it will be available for consoles and PC, while mobile platforms have not been mentioned. Also, no gameplay video has been released so far.
Tales of Shire is published by Private Division
The premise of a game set in the Lord of the Rings universe sounds ambitious, as confirmed by previous titles such as Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, but luckily, this game has a reputable name behind it. Tales of the Shire comes from publisher Private Division, which already has several quality games in its portfolio, including the space flight simulator Kerbal Space Program, the sci-fi adventure The Outer Worlds, and the wildly successful indie title Hades.
Also, the game is being created in collaboration with the internal game department of Wētā Workshop. As fans of The Lord of the Rings films will be aware, this special effects studio has a remarkable pedigree dating back to the late 1980s. Who better to create a cozy hobbit game than the company that designed the Shire in director Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies?
Podsjetimo, Private Division objavio je 2022. godine da je potpisao novi izdavački ugovor s Wētā Workshopom i odmah se krenulo na radu nove Lord of the Rings igre. Naime, Middle-earth Enterprises je licencirao književna djela serije, dajući Wētā Workshopu najširu kreativnu dozvolu za interpretaciju osnovne mitologije knjiga.
Što pokazuju nedavno otkriveni teaseri?
Although we haven't watched any gameplay yet, there have been many interesting clues about the game shared through clips and social media. In the first teaser released last September, we see someone drawing a picture of a hobbit on a table covered with small items and plants. As the person completes the drawing, they hear children's voices playing nearby. Suddenly, a gust of wind blows open the notebook, revealing more drawings including hobbit houses, farms, and places like Bywater and the Green Dragon Inn in the Shire.
In March, a moving poster was revealed featuring hobbits of different ages engaged in activities like fishing, fruit picking, and butterfly hunting. These visuals hint that gathering resources, exploring, and foraging will play important roles in the game.
Finally, we recently saw the first gameplay footage. The animation reveals a peaceful scene with a stream flowing under a bridge and hobbit holes popping up from grassy hills. There's no sign of orcs, hinting that combat might not be part of the game.
The teaser and environment clip hint that Tales of the Shire will have watercolor-style graphics. But with only three short clips, we still don't have a clear idea about the game. We don't know if it will be free or paid, and if it will have microtransactions.
More importantly, what exactly will we be able to do in the game? Will it be just a life simulation or will it go a step further than the traditional cozy format and include various puzzles and platform elements.
In the end, Wētā and Private Division plan to release Tales of the Shire sometime this year for PC and consoles, so we're yet to see what they are preparing for us.
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