Publisher Private Division and developer Weta Workshop stated that Tales of the Shire: The Lord of the Rings Game will officially be released on March 25th, 2025. Before giving this release date, the game was set to release in 2024 but was delayed because the staff felt they needed more time to make it perfect for the players. Kelly Tyson, the Head of Product at Weta Workshop, stated, “We’re excited to provide players with the opportunity to fulfil their fantasy of living their own humble Hobbit life in the Shire.”
September 22nd is referred to as Hobbit Day by players and the creators. This is referenced because it’s the birthday of the hobbits Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, who are two characters in the game. The player will be playing as a hobbit. You will cook, fish, farm, trade gifts, and more. Part of the game released talked about customizing your Hobbit home. The game gives the player a lot of control over how they want their surroundings to be. Weta had made a broadcast revealing some details, including the release day. The Hobbit broadcast also gave behind-the-scenes development of the staff playing the game and going over their thoughts and experiences with the game.
As of the time of this article, we only received the official trailer, release date, and Hobbit Day broadcast, but we still have a lot of information from those alone. Tales of the Shire takes place in Bywater, in central Shire. Bywater is a spot where the player can gather wild mushrooms and then use the ingredients to bake a succulent pie to serve for lunch. Shire itself is based on real British locations and the location was the final battle in the events of the War of the Ring. Also the Tales of the Shire trailer states the story will be a new beginning.
Tales of the Shire will be available on PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Netflix Games.