This year, the world of Middle-earth will be returning to the screen withTheRings of Power.This will be the first live-action TV show set in theLord of the Ringsuniverse, and it will mark a grand return for the fantasy world afterThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armiesreleased in 2014. WhileThe Hobbitmovies were not critically acclaimed, theLord of the Ringsseries is still considered to be among the best that fantasy has to offer. All eyes are on Amazon to see if it can deliver that same level of quality withThe Rings of Power, and it may make Middle-earth a major topic of discussion again.
The Rings of Powerwill put the spotlight on this world again, and the video game industry should respond. There have been manyvideo games set in Middle-earth, and there has been no better time for new ones. Right now, fans of the series haveThe Lord of the Rings: Gollumto look forward to, but Middle-earth should have even more games in the pipeline. As Amazon expands the world ofthe Lord of the Ringsthrough various streaming products, the video game industry should also be expanding it in other ways.
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Rings of Power Can Renew Interest in Middle-Earth
The last time that Middle-earth appeared on-screenwasThe Hobbit. These three films were box office hits, but they were far from critical darlings. WhileThe Lord of the Ringsis considered by many to be one of the best trilogies around,The Hobbittrilogy was not met with great reviews. This came down to many reasons including the fact that the smallest book was split into multiple movies, and there was an overuse of CGI in these outings. The trilogy came to its conclusion in 2014 withThe Battle of the Five Armies, and Middle-earth seemed to vanish from the big screen.
On the smaller screen,The Lord of the RIngswas explored through a couple of different video games. In-between the release ofThe HobbitandThe Rings of Power, there was thevery popularMiddle-earthseries by Monolith and a couple different mobile games. TheMiddle-earthgames told a brand-new story inThe Lord of the Ringsuniverse, but the series has not had a new entry since 2017. Now, fans ofThe Lord of the Ringsonly have theGollumgame and a survival crafting game set in Moria to look forward to.
The release ofThe Rings of Powerwill make Middle-Earth visible again, and it may create a renewed interest in the world.The Lord of the Ringsfans have never stopped caring about the franchise, but the general audiences may have moved on to otherfantasy worlds likeGame of Thrones. IfThe Rings of Poweris good then it could pull back audiences to Middle-earth, and it would make people care about the world again. This newfound interest in the franchise would need to be directed somewhere in-between seasons ofThe Rings of Power, and that is where the video game industry comes into play.
There is So Much Video Game Potential for Middle-Earth
The video game industry has shown that it can already make some pretty fun fantasy games andLord of the Ringstitles. WhileThe Lord of the Rings: Gollummay become a hit, the series deserves other games that do not put players in the shoes of Gollum. Fans of the series want to explore Middle-Earth and participate in major parts of its history, and they do not all want to do that as Gollum. Middle-Earth is vast and filled to the brim with story potential that is just waiting to be tapped by developers.
These new video games could come in many forms and would give players a plethora of different experiences. Monolith Productions could finally deliver a third entry in theMiddle-earthseries, a developer couldremake The Battle for Middle-earthfor the current generation, Warner Bros. could get a studio to make a new version ofThe Lord of the Rings: Conquest, and there could even be a brand-new game set during the time ofThe Rings of Power. There are so many old games that could be brought back, and there are so many other stories that the industry could tell.
Middle-Earth deserves a boatload of video games to build it out.The Rings of Powerwill surely reignite passion for the franchise, and there should be video games that take advantage of this newfound interest. Even ifThe Rings of Poweris not reviewed well, therecould be many Middle-earth gamesto explore to keep the world alive.
