Fans of Middle-earth have even more reason to celebrate, as additional classic Lord of the Rings video games are officially set to make a comeback following the recent launch of Lord of the Rings: War in the North - Legacy Edition. The upgraded action RPG has already earned a warm reception from players across Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, laying a promising foundation for future retro re-releases.

Gaming adaptations set in Tolkien’s legendary universe date all the way back to the early 1980s, debuting on classic platforms like the Apple II and Commodore 64. While the 1990s saw a temporary lull in new releases, the franchise experienced a massive resurgence in the early 2000s alongside Peter Jackson's blockbuster film trilogy. Many titles from that era earned critical acclaim and built a devoted following, making them prime candidates for modern console bring-backs.

Rumors of a War in the North remaster first began circulating via leaks in July before publisher Aspyr officially launched the Legacy Edition in August. Alongside the release, Aspyr confirmed that this project won't be its only return to Middle-earth, hinting that several other classic titles from the franchise are currently in development. While the team hasn't explicitly named which games are up next, the strong feedback for War in the North clearly points to a eager market for modernized LOTR releases.

Narrowing down which titles Aspyr might tackle next comes down to understanding past publishing rights. While Electronic Arts handled most of the iconic 2000s adaptations, War in the North was originally published by Warner Bros. Interactive. Throughout the 2010s, Warner Bros. managed a solid catalog of Middle-earth games, including:

1. Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest
2. Guardians of Middle-earth
3. LEGO The Lord of the Rings
4. LEGO The Hobbit
5. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
6. Middle-earth: Shadow of War

If Aspyr's publishing focus remains tied to the Warner Bros. library, a title like Guardians of Middle-earth stands out as a prime candidate for a return. Much like War in the North, Guardians of Middle-earth was previously delisted from digital storefronts like Steam, leaving fans with no official way to play it. On the other hand, games like the LEGO titles and Shadow of Mordor are still readily available to purchase online, making delisted titles a far higher priority for game preservation.

Although the original 2011 release of War in the North met with a mixed critical response, the new Legacy Edition won over fans by introducing crucial quality-of-life upgrades. Features like seamless character swapping in single-player mode, autosaving, and extra save slots went a long way toward modernizing the experience. Aspyr could easily apply a similar polish to other hidden gems in the Warner Bros. vault as work continues on upcoming Middle-earth projects.