The Lord Of The Rings: The Third Age Remaster Has Fans Seriously Excited

Published Oct 15, 2026, 7:30 AM EDT

James is a gaming writer from London who has spent thousands of hours exploring titles from every genre. Though he has a particular affinity for multiplayer titles like World of Warcraft, Destiny 2 and League of Legends, he has also put thousands of hours into single-player experiences, from deep RPGs to epic PC strategies. When he's not playing or writing, he can usually be found supporting his beloved Brentford FC.

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The Lord of the Rings has seen some brilliant games over the years, but so many of them have been left firmly in the past, requiring players to bring out their old consoles if they want to experience them again. That said, hope was kindled by the return of the long-gone War in the North, which returned as a very solid remaster earlier this year.

That quickly turned the conversation to the myriad older games that still hold a special place in the collective hearts of players, and there are some great options when you start to think about it. Battle for Middle-earth II and the latter two movie tie-ins are the ones that spring to mind, but the absolute best option is an underrated gem that has a strong claim to being one of the best original Lord of the Rings games of all-time.

In case you missed it, Aspyr Media (who brought us the War in the North Remaster) released a statement celebrating the game's launch. In it, they stated it would be "the first The Lord of the Rings title released by Aspyr," before going on to say that "Fans can look forward to even more classic releases by Aspyr from the beloved franchise in the future."

It's a very exciting thing to hear, and as a longtime fan, my immediate hope for the first game they should release next was The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age. If you never played it, it was a turn-based effort with an original narrative and characters, that runs alongside the main story from the movies.

Originally released in 2004, the game received fairly mixed reviews at the time, but it's definitely a firm favorite among fans. It functions as a bit of a Final Fantasy clone, but I like The Lord Of The Rings and I like Final Fantasy, so put 'em together! Overall, it's a genuinely brilliant game that would do really well on modern platforms.

Over on Reddit, it seems I wasn't the only one that thought that, as many weighed in to share their hopes for the next release.

"Return of the King and The Third Age pretty please," one read. While another added, "I really hope we get The Third Age."

There were tens of other comments from fans who were all calling for the same thing, and while the movie tie-ins were understandably just as popular, it's difficult to see a reason why we can't have all of them. Given this apparent push to release more Lord Of The Rings game remasters, I feel fairly confident that The Third Age is just a matter of time. But we'll have to wait and see.

It's very clear from recent releases that remasters and remakes are a lot easier to develop than entirely new games. That means they could serve as the perfect way for us Lord of the Rings fans to fill the time while we wait to see what Warhorse Studios has been cooking up with their latest effort, which should hopefully come in the next few years, assuming there are no disasters.

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