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Lord of the Rings gaming and movie rights are up for sale

By Tomas Franzese Published February 9, 2022

The gaming, movie merchandising, and live event rights for The Lord of the Rings franchise are up for sale, Variety reports.

Zaentz Co. currently holds the rights to these Lord of the Rings rights, and it is selling them with the help of ACF Investment Bank. Variety claims that these rights could be worth up to $2 billion to the right buyer.

Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings — Image used with permission by copyright holder

As for potential buyers, Variety theorized that Amazon may be a suitor because of its upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Amazon Prime television series. It would also be a compelling franchise for Amazon Game Studios to have at its disposal. Amazon previously canceled a Lord of the Rings MMO, so we wouldn’t be surprised if it returned to the idea if it owned the IP rights.

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Daedalic Entertainment is currently working on a game starring Gollum, though it’s doubtful it could afford to buy the rights.

Warner Bros. is also a potential buyer. It produced the popular Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film series, and WB Games has also developed several titles set in that world, including Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Middle-earth: Shadow of War. The developer of those games is now working on a Wonder Woman game, and Variety reports that WB lost exclusive film rights last year. As such, its interest in acquiring these rights is questionable.

This deal is significant as it will play an important role in the future in terms of of what video games and films based on this franchise come out. Fans of The Lord of the Rings should keep an eye on the results of this sale.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

A former Gaming Staff Writer at Digital Trends, Tomas Franzese now reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…

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cataclismo recommendation hooded horse manor lords horros

Hooded Horse, a PC video game publisher that rose to fame earlier this year for backing real-time strategy (RTS) game hit Manor Lords, will release another excellent game into early access next week. The game in question is Cataclismo, the latest effort from Moonlighter and The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story developer Digital Sun Games. It mixes real-time strategy and tower defense mechanics, and players have a lot of freedom in terms of how they build up the defense around their bases in order to ward off the "horrors" that attack them each night.

Although Cataclismo will still be in early access when it launches next week, fans of the RTS genre, base-building games, and tower defense titles will want to keep their eye on Hooded Horse's latest. With Manor Lords and Cataclismo, Hooded Horse is cementing itself as the PC game publisher to watch.

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Tales of the Shire is a The Lord of the Rings-themed take on Stardew Valley

A Hobbit gardens in Tales of the Shire.

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In 2022, No Rest for the Wicked publisher Private Division first teased that it was working on a game based on The Lord of the Rings with Wētā Workshop, the visual effects studio whose initial claim to fame was working on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Wētā Workshop has technically had a game studio since 2014, but Tales of the Shire will be its most significant release yet.

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The best rings in Lords of the Fallen

The Lords of the Fallen trailer.

Magical rings are nothing new to fantasy or games, and Lords of the Fallen makes good use of these little pieces of jewelry. Unlike armor or weapons, rings are an accessory that gives you passive bonuses as long as you're wearing them. While not as immediately noticeable as other gear can be, some of these rings are quite strong and can do a lot to improve your build and playstyle. Some give straight attribute buffs, while others have more conditional effects, but with dozens to pick from and find, you'll be spoiled for choice. No matter what build you're going for, these are the best rings to bling out your character within Lords of the Fallen.
Best rings

There are well over 50 rings in Lords of the Fallen, and despite your character having 10 fingers, or at least 8 if you don't count thumbs, to wear them on, you have to choose only two at a time. Rings can be found either in chests or by beating special enemies or bosses.
Ring of Nourishment
Health is your most valuable resource in Lords of the Fallen, as is the case with all Soulslikes. You have limited healing options normally, so getting through a tough or new area can wear your character down over time as you run out of healing. The Ring of Nourishment can't replace your default healing but is a great supplement to keep you going and save a few charges. Each enemy you kill while wearing this ring will restore a bit of your health. If you play carefully and smartly, you can use it to completely undo some mistakes. This ring won't do you much good in boss fights, though.
Ring of Gnawing
For the more spell-focused builds, mana is always tough to manage. Unlike stamina, which will automatically replenish itself over time, but require you to rest at a checkpoint or use a consumable item. If you have the Ring of Gnawing, you can get a bit of mana back every time you hit an enemy with a normal attack. This is ideal for builds that spec in both strength or agility and a magic focus since you can swap back and forth as you regain and spend your mana.
Ring of Duty
This is a somewhat boring pick, but if you're a more traditional build focused on hitting things hard and fast, then the Ring of Duty is an easy one to slap on. This simply buffs both your VIT and END attributes to make you that much harder to kill.
Queen Verena II's Ring
If the Ring of Nourishment is a bit too risky for you, you can always fall back on the Queen of Verena II's Ring. This is a simple HP regen ring that slowly ticks up your health over time. If you are patient enough, you can take a break after each encounter to get back to full health before moving on, though that can be quite boring.
Ring of Bones
Lords of the Fallen breaks down your equipment load into four categories: light, medium, heavy, and overburdened. Most players will feel most comfortable at either medium or light burden levels for a more fluid feeling combat flow, but keeping yourself that light is tough without forgoing some armor or weapons. The Ring of Bones can help you sneak under these thresholds by increasing your character's maximum equip load.
Mineowner's Ring
As an alternative to the Ring of Duty, or complement to it if you wear both, the Mineowner's Ring is focused only on stamina. Not only is it a better stamina buff, but it also increases the rate your stamina recovers so you can get back on the offensive as fast as possible.