All articles tagged with #lord of the rings
Aspyr Media announced that Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Middle-earth: Shadow of War will launch on Nintendo Switch 2 on September 30, 2026, as part of a bundle. The release includes all post-launch DLC but omits online features for Shadow of War. A 50% discount is available until October 6.
TrueAchievements runs a poll asking readers which classic Lord of the Rings games they’d like remastered for modern consoles, amid Aspyr’s hints at more LotR remasters and the Xbox Series X|S release of War in the North - Legacy Edition. Readers can vote on titles such as Aragorn’s Quest, Conquest, Guardians of Middle-earth, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Hobbit, The Return of the King, The Third Age, The Two Towers, The War of the Ring, or suggest an ‘Other’ title.
Aspyr shadow-dropped The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition on Xbox Series X|S and says more LotR remasters/ports are in the works. The press release offers no specifics, but fans expect future releases including The Two Towers, Return of the King, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Third Age, and The Fellowship of the Ring.
Aspyr dropped a Legacy Edition of 2011’s The Lord of the Rings: War in the North and announced that more classic LOTR titles are headed for re-release in the future, with WBIE-era games like Aragorn’s Quest and Lego LOTR/The Hobbit cited among possible entries, while new LOTR projects are reportedly in the works from Warhorse (Kingdom Come) and Crystal Dynamics.
Aspyr released The Lord of the Rings: War in the North as a Legacy Edition, a tweaked 2011 co-op action-RPG by Snowblind Studios, featuring better graphics options, more save slots, a lock-on combat toggle, improved UI, and in-level character upgrades. The publisher frames it as Aspyr’s first LOTR title and hints at more Tolkien releases to come, though it’s a $20 non-remaster and there’s some credit confusion since Snowblind developed it. Steam reception is largely positive despite the back catalog baggage.
Aspyr has released The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2 (EU eShop launch Aug 18), and PC via Steam, Epic, and GOG, priced at $19.99 with a 10% launch discount through Aug 24. The updated edition brings online and local co-op (up to three players online, two players split-screen locally), character hot-swapping, refined targeting, improved UI with health/mana/EXP bars, autosaves, gyro support on newer consoles, 60 FPS gameplay, bug fixes, and new content focusing on Agandaûr’s story in a darker Middle‑earth experience.
Google reportedly yanked offline access to The Lord of the Rings: Extended Edition Trilogy purchased on Google Play, illustrating that digital “purchases” are licenses rather than true ownership; with refunds denied and the buyer redirected to YouTube, the backlash highlights ongoing questions about lifelong access to digital content and bolsters the case for physical media like 4K Blu-ray.
A user who bought The Lord of the Rings: Extended Edition digitally via Google Movies found the films removed from their library with Google denying a refund, underscoring how digital ownership can be revoked and reigniting calls for physical media as a safeguard.
Four original LOTR stars—Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd—dined in Cambridge, MA for a ‘Great Night of Conversation,’ sharing rare photos with Astin writing, “The band’s all here.” Wood teased a possible return in Andy Serkis’ The Hunt for Gollum, while Astin recalled that fame didn’t always translate to money, noting he once had to sell his house. The reunion underscores enduring fan interest in Middle-earth and hints at future projects.
LOTR stars including Dominic Monaghan, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin and Billy Boyd will attend Fan Expo Boston Aug. 7–9 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring, with events such as An Evening with the Hobbits and a morning Second Breakfast feast; other cast members like Orlando Bloom, Karl Urban, John Rhys-Davies and John Noble will meet fans, and Monaghan discusses fandom, group chats, and future LOTR projects with Stephen Colbert.
Sean Astin says his Lord of the Rings earnings totaled around $250,000 for playing Samwise Gamgee (about $75,000 per film) with no residuals, a figure that didn’t match the level of attention he received, which led him to sell his home to cover mortgage and insurance costs. He’s since become financially comfortable and says he would renegotiate pay if given the chance.
Sean Astin told The Guardian that his LOTR fame came with surprisingly low pay, earning about $75,000 per film (around $250,000 for the trilogy) and prompting him to sell his house; he’s now financially comfortable and, as SAG-AFTRA president, advocates for better pay and remains open to reprising Sam in future LOTR projects.
Sean Astin says his pay for The Lord of the Rings was so low—about $250,000 total (roughly $75,000 per film)—that he had to sell his house, despite the trilogy’s $2.9 billion worldwide gross; the films were shot back-to-back with no renegotiation opportunities, and while he’s financially comfortable now, the upfront earnings were far from lucrative.
Fans have released non-trivial HD texture packs by The128ReBits to remaster The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Return of the King on GameCube via Dolphin, delivering texture-by-texture upgrades to environments, characters, and UI while preserving the original art style. Installation requires GameCube PAL ROMs and placing the extracted GLOS69 (The Two Towers) or GKLS69 (The Return of the King) folders into Dolphin's Textures folder, renaming as needed for regional IDs. Note that The Two Towers never had a PC release, while The Return of the King did in 2003, so the packs are best experienced on the GameCube version with these textures. The article includes before/after comparison videos.
Kotaku surveys Andy Serkis’s recent public missteps—from defending an all-white The Hunt for Gollum cast to framing ‘cancel culture’ as overblown, while embracing AI as a creative tool—and links these remarks to his projects like The Hunt for Gollum and Animal Farm, suggesting a shift in his stance on representation and technology in filmmaking.