80%
Probable
After reports that Warhorse Studios, the team behind the Kingdom Come: Deliverance games was working on an upcoming Lord of the Rings game, a new report from Insider-Gaming seems to further clarify what's actually happening with the next title set in Tolkien's universe. According to the outlet, while it's possible that Warhorse is working on a Lord of the Rings game, the game that's currently rumoured to be coming next from the LotR franchise is actually being made by Crystal Dynamics.
This is something the studio is working on alongside its upcoming Tomb Raider titles, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, and Tomb Raider: Catalyst. Insider-Gaming adds that it was Crystal Dynamics, not Warhorse, who received funding from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) to make what we've previously heard is a third-person, open-world action game.
Though previous reports had its reveal set to be sometime in the near future, Insider-Gaming's current claim is that its sources say the title is still "a bit away."
While Warhorse Studios definitely fits the mould as a team that could produce a very interesting and fun game based on the iconic franchise, it also makes a lot of sense that Crystal Dynamics would be given the chance to tell a story within Middle-earth. The studio is under Embracer Group and is clearly capable of handling games in major IPs.
It'll be interesting to see what this game is, and if Warhorse is making its own title, what that game ends up becoming. Embracer hasn't been shy about how it feels about growing The Lord of the Rings and making it a major video game franchise alongside the books, films and TV shows.
It's always possible that Embracer wants to try turning it into a massive live service project, though Crystal Dynamics and Warhorse are not the teams you'd hire to do so. Their strengths lie in single-player experiences, and hopefully, Embracer is looking to have them play to their strengths, instead of trying to force a live service hit out of a single-player focused studio.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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