Warhorse is making a Lord of the Rings open-world RPG — and a new Kingdom Come
The studio that made Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is now officially working on a Lord of the Rings open-world RPG. Warhorse Studios announced both projects on the same day via a short post on X — one is a new Middle-earth game, the other a follow-up Kingdom Come adventure. Neither has a release window, genre breakdown, or story details attached.
The announcement
Warhorse confirmed the news in a brief statement: "You may have heard some rumours, so it's time to reveal what we're working on: an open-world RPG set in Middle-earth and a new Kingdom Come adventure. We'll share more when the time is right."
That's essentially the entirety of what's been disclosed. The Middle-earth project is described as an RPG; the new Kingdom Come title is described only as a "new adventure," which, per Insider Gaming, leaves open whether it follows the same RPG format as its predecessors or experiments with something different.
You might have heard the rumours, it's time to reveal what we are working on.
— Warhorse Studios (@WarhorseStudios) May 20, 2026
?️ An open world Middle-earth RPG.
⚔️ A new Kingdom Come adventure.
We’re excited to tell you more when the time is right.#WarhorseStudios #Annoucement #lotr #KingdomComeDeliverance pic.twitter.com/Pcgf9SqW52
High stakes, open questions
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 sold 5 million copies in its first year after releasing in February 2025 and won BAFTA awards — a strong track record for a studio now taking on one of fiction's most scrutinized franchises. Recent Lord of the Rings games have underwhelmed: Gollum was widely panned, and Return to Moria and Tales of the Shire landed with mixed receptions, according to PCGamesN. That gives Warhorse both room to impress and no margin for error.
The bigger complication is creative leadership. Daniel Vávra, co-founder of Warhorse and the creative force behind the Kingdom Come series, stepped away from game development in February 2026, confirms VGC. He is now focused on a film or TV adaptation of Kingdom Come, having already written a draft script. No replacement creative director has been named for either game project.
Warhorse's medieval, historically grounded approach is exactly what a grittier Middle-earth game could benefit from — Tolkien's world has plenty of low-magic, sword-and-mud corners that suit the studio's strengths. Whether the team can execute two major projects simultaneously, without its founder in the room, is the real question fans should be asking.
No platforms, pricing, or timelines have been announced. More details are coming "when the time is right."
