The Cozy LOTR Game You've Been Waiting For, Tales Of The Shire, Finally Gets Release Date

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is set to deliver a completely new kind of experience in Middle-Earth, and it's finally received an official release date in honor of Hobbit Day. While most video games based on the world of and feature some variety of battlefield action, is going for the cozy life simulation market instead. Set in the idyllic village of Bywater, the gameplay loop focuses on tasks like gardening, talking to neighbors, and decorating a hole in the ground for a Hobbit to live in.

As revealed in the Hobbit Day Showcase by developer Weta Workshop and publisher Private Division, will launch on March 25, 2025. Following a previous delay that moved the game out of a planned release in 2024, this fits nicely into the early 2025 window that was subsequently promised. At launch, the game will be available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and the Netflix Games platform.

follows a recent surge of games that broke a bit of a dry spell for the franchise. 2023 saw the release of both the disastrous and the more decent , which focused respectively on survival and stealth. Each title has come courtesy of a different developer, so it's hard to carry any particular set of expectations forward into the release.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has the titular character roaming Middle-earth, but its oddly inventive premise is bogged down by technical issues.

At any rate, has all the necessary ingredients to appeal to cozy game fans. Few settings have anywhere near the same charms as the Shire, and even a chunky, cartoonish take on hobbit homes makes interior decoration uniquely appealing. The zero-stakes approach that defines many games in the genre can be a bit divisive, but escapist fluff isn't necessarily any further from Tolkien's vision than games about daredevil orc-slaying are.

Although the initial delay might have been disappointing, it's good that Weta Workshop is giving the time it needs, and having a solid release date is reassuring. The confirmed release calendar of 2025 games is largely empty at