Aspyr’s random re-release of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is the start of a new era of remasters for classic Middle Earth games. As a test for the popularity of LOTR’s long history of video games, War in the North has performed well.
While a basic port, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition revived Snowblind Studios’ underrated 2011 hack-and-slash game for pretty much all modern consoles. There are some minor improvements, albeit not transformative ones, but fans were simply happy to see the game get some acknowledgement.
In a section of publisher Embracer Group’s recent earnings call, it was revealed that the Middle-Earth game’s remaster has performed above expectations. Unfortunately, specific sales numbers were not revealed, but the publisher noted it as one of “the most significant new releases in the quarter”.
“Lord of the Rings: War in the North was well received by players and performed above management expectations,” Embracer Group confirmed. The company also noted that the game was not one of their top five best sellers, but sold more copies than originally anticipated.
Since the re-release of Lord of the Rings: War in the North, Aspyr has already released some additional Middle-Earth games. While other platforms have not received these ports, new versions of Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and Middle-Earth: Shadow of War were released on Nintendo Switch 2, and both became major hits on the console’s digital download charts.
As Embracer also works on publishing Warhorse Studios’ upcoming Lord of the Rings game, it’s looking like LOTR fans will be treated to a host of both new and returning titles. But while re-releases of War in the North and Shadow of Mordor are great, there are tonnes of great titles locked away on old platforms.
Of course, many fans are simply waiting for remasters of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and The Battle for Middle-Earth. However, there are so many other great titles based on the franchise. Come on, guys, bring back The Lord of the Rings: Tactics! Bring back Lord of the Rings: Conquest… that one isn’t great, but I want it anyway! Hell, with how popular War in the North’s basic re-release was, maybe we can get a collection of movie tie-in games!
