Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game announces release date

^{Image: Weta Workshop}

The cosy Lord of the Rings game now has a release date. 

Developer Weta Workshop has announced a release date for Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game. The life sim game will launch on March 25, 2025 on all platforms, allowing players to embrace the Hobbit fantasy by foraging, cooking and making friends in the cosiest corner of Middle-earth. 

Watch the announcement below:

Cosy life sim game Tales of the Shire gets release date

If travelling to the inner sanctum of Mordor to cast an evil ring into the fires of an erupting volcano sounds a little too intense for you, consider this cosier take on the Lord of the Rings franchise. Tales of the Shire is a life sim game in the same vein as titles like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Stardew Valley, charging players with the care of a small town-to-be called Bywater in the Shire. 

Players will create their own Hobbits and slowly build up their town by foraging for resources, tending to their gardens and trading with their neighbours. They can also cook homemade meals to make friends with neighbouring Hobbits, and foster bonds with them over time. They will also be able to decorate their own Hobbit-hole for maximum comfort. 

Developer Weta Workshop has announced that Tales of the Shire will now launch on March 25, 2025, pushing its release date back from a planned 2024 launch. That date wasn’t chosen at random, either - March 25 happens to be the date the One Ring was destroyed in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, cementing Sauron’s defeat and the triumph of good against evil. 

Tales of the Shire will launch on March 25, 2025, on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. A Lord of the Rings MMORPG is also in the works, along with a new movie focused on Gollum.