The Lord of the Rings is a franchise we are all familiar with. It has been with us since childhood and can still excite any grown man or child. If we talk about the film series, it contains three main parts, The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003).
They all follow the story of Frodo Baggins, a young hobbit, and how through unexpected series of events, he must now set out with Gandalf and his friends with the Ring of Power and set it ablaze in the fires of Mordor. It is the only way of defeating the dark lord Sauron. The story spans three movies and has become of the most successful film trilogies in history.
The Lord of the Rings Game by Gearbox.The story began in books as a sequel to Tolkien’s early work, The Hobbit, and since it got a massive following of its own, many books were written throughout 1937-1949 and were one of the best-selling books, having 150m+ copies sold.
Embracer Acquiring Some Rights of TLOTR
Before we venture into the potential game release, this part is essential. In August 2022, Embracer acquired Middle-Earth Enterprises and the rights to the IP The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. If you are unaware, Middle-Earth Enterprises is the de facto license holder of everything that is The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
Middle-Earth Enterprises have licenses to book releases. Still, they have been licensing the rights of IP-affiliated projects, like video games, board games, stage plays, physical events, merch, films and even TV adaptations. That now goes to Embracer Group, as they acquired it for around $770 million.
Saul Zaetz wanted to sell it all for nothing less than $2 billion, but I guess it did not go according to their plans. Jumping to now, our team at TopTierList found from a Reddit Post by LongJonSilver that Gearbox has trademarked the name, Fellowship.
Major Points
- Gearbox is a subsidiary of Embracer, the licensed owner of The Lord of the Rings. They recently trademarked the name Fellowship, hinting at a potential game.
- The Founder of Embracer himself stated that they would like to expand the series through various mediums, so there are many possibilities.
- Since Gearbox is the Video Game division, it will most likely be through a game.
Embracer’s Plan for Expanding the Franchise
When Embracer acquired Middle-Earth Enterprises, the Founder and Group CEO, Lars Wingefors, stated:
I am thrilled to see what lies in the future for this IP with Freemode and Asmodee as a start within the group. Going forward, we also look forward to collaborating with both existing and new external licensees of our increasingly stronger IP portfolio.
Their intentions for the series are clear, and we should expect a lot from them. But as we currently have no information on a potential IP in development, things seemed slim. Not anymore, since the trademark gives us a first hint at what their upcoming TLOTR game might be like.
Trademark Details of the Potential Game by Gearbox.As we can see from the text, it is undoubtedly a game, and since Gearbox filed it, there is no further doubt. However, Fellowship refers to the first movie title in The Lord of the Rings, called Fellowship of the Ring.
So, whether they want to make a game adaptation of the original series or loosely base the game around the film’s events is unknown. But we don’t need to worry about a thing since the studio handling it is Gearbox, who also blessed us with notable titles, including Half-Life and Borderlands.
When Can We Expect More News?
It’s currently hard to answer that because trademarks can take anywhere from days to years before further steps are taken into the said thing. So, they might just be in the earliest stage, almost finished, or maybe even considering it, and in that case, it won’t see the light of day.
Before you get your hopes down, the first two cases are likely, so let’s keep our fingers crossed. And if you are unaware of how trademarks work: Any combination of words, phrases, symbols, designs, and even logos that a company identifies as its “service,” or “product” is called a trademark. It is how the customers recognize you in the market.
So, what do you think we can expect from this game? Do you believe Gearbox will go all-out for a TLOTR game? We certainly think so, but share your thoughts with us below, and we can discuss it together!
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