A new Lord of the Rings game is on the way to mobile devices thanks to a new partnership between EA and Middle-Earth Enterprises, a division of The Saul Zaentz Company. is a free-to-play “Collectible RPG” that EA plans to add to its live service portfolio.

This new partnership comes shortly after the Lord of the Rings gaming and movie rights went on sale by Zaentz Co., the rights holder of the series. This is the first major Lord of the Rings gaming project to emerge since then.

The title features “immersive storytelling, turn-based combat, deep collection systems, and a wide roster of characters from across the vast universe of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.” EA’s press release also states that the game is solely inspired by the depiction of Middle-earth as it’s described in the actual Lord of the Rings books by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The blog goes into detail about more things to expect from Heroes of Middle-earth like high-fidelity graphics, cinematic animations, and stylized art. However, not much has been disclosed beyond those details, with no gameplay or images of the actual game being shared.

If the word “collectible” has you nervous in the NFT era (especially after EA called them “the future of our industry“), don’t worry: EA confirmed to Digital Trends that the game will not feature NFT integration.

With rarely any hard details shared, it’s no surprise that doesn’t have a release window just yet. However, EA is aiming to launch a limited best test this summer.