Forgotten Lord of the Ring RPG shadowdropped 7 years after being delisted

A Lord of the Rings game that’s been unavailable since 2019 just got a surprise re-release, allowing fans to hop back into Middle-earth once again.

First released in 2011, Lord of the Rings: War in the North was delisted on Steam back in 2019 and was never ported over to modern consoles. So, if you wanted to play Snowblind Studios’ hack-and-slash RPG, you’d have to fire up an old Xbox 360 or PS3.

Now, though, the game has resurfaced, as the re-released “Legacy Edition” was shadow-dropped on Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2 on August 11.

Lord of the Rings: War in the North gets surprise re-release

Although it isn’t a full remaster, it has received a few improvements. The Legacy Edition includes 60 frames per second support, a new-look UI, online co-op, and autosave.

The story takes place alongside the events of the main Lord of the Rings trilogy, as the Fellowship sets out to destroy the One Ring. You play as a group of heroes who travel across northern Middle-earth to stop one of Sauron’s servants from strengthening his forces in the region.

This re-release is being handled by Aspyr Media, who are well known for their ports, and they’ve promised that there are more classic games inspired by Tolkien’s work coming back later down the line.

“The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition is licensed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and is the first The Lord of the Rings title released by Aspyr,” the company said in a press release seen by IGN. “Fans can look forward to even more classic releases by Aspyr from the beloved franchise in the future!”

We’ll have to wait and see exactly which games they’re referring to, but fans are already hoping to see Battle for Middle-earth 2 or LotR Conquest get a similar treatment.

It’s a good time to be a Lord of the Rings fan, with Rings of Power Season 3 arriving in November, featuring a Balrog played by Simon Pegg.