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It’s hard to believe, but it has been over 12 years since the release ofElder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Upon its release, it completely shook up the RPG genre and presented players with a gameplay that still holds up in today’s day and age.
Skyrimis truly Bethesda and Todd Howard’s magnum opus. However, the game would’ve never been able to achieve the heights it did if EA hadn’t canceled an open-world Lord of the Ringsgame that had all the potential to lead the RPG genre and obliterate its competitors.
EA’sLord of the Ringsgame would’ve smashed records
You’ll be shocked to know that years ago, EA Redwood Shores was crafting a game based on theLord of the Ringsfranchise called theLord of the Rings: The White Council.
The game was supposed to draw inspiration from the original books that we’ve all grown to love and Peter Jackson’s acclaimed movie trilogy.Initially, EA wanted to bring anopen-world experience where gamers could go on to different kinds of story quests across the game’s multiple locations.
Lord of the Rings: The White Councilwould’ve allowed gamers to make their very own characters, be they Dwarf, Elf, Human, or Hobbit, and they’d helped the White Council with an adventure while they weren’t doing side missions.
“Gandalf could kick Dumbledore’s a*s”: Was George R.R. Martin Biased With His Verdict on a Harry Potter vs The Lord of the Rings Debate?
However, in 2007, EA announced that the project was on a hiatus, and it was shelved later on. You might wonder why EA canceled an open-world title with such incredible potential. Well, it’s due to a number of reasons.
While chatting withThe Gamer,multiple developers who worked on the game opened up about its downfall and stated that EA wasn’t looking to tackle another big-budget project right after releasingThe Godfatherin 2006.
While initially developing the title, EA wanted to rival Bethesda and BioWare to give an ultimateLord of the Ringsexperience, but this proved to be too difficult. What’s worse, it was proving to be a major headache to develop for PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles as there were numerous technical difficulties.
Plus, EA’s licensefor theLord of the Ringsfranchisewas about to expire in 2007, and that would’ve left the company with basically no time to develop the game. In the end, Warner Bros. acquired the rights to the franchise and went on to craft their own games.
EA’s habit of canceling popular franchises
It’s not the open-worldLord of the Ringsgame EA couldn’t make a reality;the studio failed to even bring a fourthDead Spacegame. While the final entry in the sci-fi trilogy dropped in 2013, many in the community hoped to see another game after the 2023 remake.
In aninterviewwith YouTuber Dan Allen Gaming, Glen Schofield, the mind behind theDead Spaceseries, stated that he pitchedDead Space 4to EA alongside Bret Robbins and Christopher Stone, who contributed to the first game.
However, nothing came to fruition because EA wasn’t interested in making aDead Space 4. The developers didn’t say whether the company could make something happen in the future, but they realized where EA was coming from.
Thegaming industry isn’t really in a good position right now. EA itself faced a round of layoffs, with more than 670 people leaving the company. Making moreDead Spacegames when its latest remakes didn’t perform that well might not be the best idea.
It’s sad that EA has missed out on big franchises such asLord of the RingsandDead Space. Let’s hope the company can treat its current IPs in a better manner and give gamers what they’ve been requesting.
With that said, do you think EA’sLord of the Ringsgame had the potential to battle Bethesda’sElder Scrollsfranchise? Let us know in the comments below.
Dhruv Bhatnagar
Articles Published :1195
With over 4 years of experience in content writing and more than 1,000 articles published for FandomWire, Dhruv is a seasoned writer when it comes to the gaming space. He’s deeply passionate about titles such as GTA Online, Forza Horizon, and Pokémon Go, committed to bringing readers deep dives and latest updates.
