Kingdom Come studio confirms its rumored Lord of the Rings RPG is real

Warhorse Studios is officially going from medieval Bohemia to Middle-earth. After weeks of rumors, the Kingdom Come: Deliverance team has confirmed it is working on an open-world RPG set in the world of The Lord of the Rings, along with a new Kingdom Come adventure.

That is a huge shift for a studio known for grounded history, realistic sword fighting, and muddy village life instead of elves, orcs, and ancient magic. Warhorse has not shown gameplay, named the project, or shared a release window yet, but the confirmation alone makes this one of the most interesting RPG announcements around Embracer’s Middle-earth plans.

A Lord of the Rings RPG from Warhorse makes sense in a strange way. Kingdom Come: Deliverance was not about chosen-one spectacle. It was about learning how to survive in a rough world where food, armor, reputation, and a bad sword swing could all matter.

That kind of design could work well in Middle-earth if the studio leans into travel, danger, settlements, factions, and the feeling of being a small person inside a much larger world. Tolkien’s setting does not need another game that only chases big battles. It could benefit from a slower RPG that lets players feel the weight of the road.

Warhorse has not shown gameplay yet, so the exact direction is still unknown. There are no confirmed platforms, release date, characters, or story details.

The Middle-earth game is not replacing Warhorse’s own series. The studio has also confirmed a new Kingdom Come adventure, though it has not called it Kingdom Come: Deliverance 3.

Fans should not treat the next project as a numbered sequel until Warhorse says more. For now, the studio is keeping the door open for another story in its historical RPG world without revealing where or when it takes place.

It also gives Warhorse two very different paths forward. One project builds on the studio’s own medieval identity, while the other puts its RPG design into one of the most famous fantasy settings ever made.

The company owns Middle-earth Enterprises and has been reorganizing parts of its business around major franchises, including The Lord of the Rings and Kingdom Come.

That matters because Tolkien games have had an uneven run in recent years. Some projects have struggled, others have disappeared, and fans are still waiting for a modern single-player RPG that feels worthy of the setting.

Warhorse gives Embracer a studio with real RPG experience and a clear identity. The pressure will be high, but the match is more interesting than handing the license to a team with no history in deep world-building.

The confirmation is only the first step. Warhorse has not explained whether the game will follow a new character, adapt a known era, or build its own story somewhere inside Middle-earth.

That leaves the biggest questions for a future reveal. Will it keep the studio’s grounded approach? Will combat stay weighty and punishing? Will players move through famous locations, or explore places Tolkien games rarely touch?

For now, the important part is finally official: the studio behind Kingdom Come: Deliverance is making an open-world Lord of the Rings RPG, and its next few years now stretch from medieval Europe to Middle-earth.