The Lord of the Rings Return to Moria, the survival crafting game set in John Ronald Reuel Tolkien’s The Fourth Age of Middle-earth has gone gold or in this case “Mithril” and will launch exclusively on PC via Epic Games Store on October 24.
Return to Moria is coming to PC in a couple of days, PlayStation players will still have to wait a bit more as developer, Free Range Games, announced that the game has been delayed on PS5 and will launch later this year.
The Lord of the Rings Return to Moria PS5 Version Is Delayed
Free Range Games confirmed in a press release that The Lord of the Rings Return to Moria has been delayed on PlayStation 5 and will now be released on December 5, 2023, alongside a physical release. Both the PC and PS5 versions were previously slated to launch on October 24.
Additionally, the Xbox Series X|S version of the game is planned for early 2024, but no specific release date has been given yet. The developer added this time will help it polish some aspects of the PS5 version of the game to provide players with the highest quality to the players. It stated:
We are taking this additional time to improve various aspects of the PS5 version and to ensure we can deliver the highest possible quality for PlayStation gamers.
Our teams apologize for the delay and are fully committed to delivering an amazing experience on PS5 this December. We greatly appreciate your ongoing support and patience!
This seems like a fair reason for pushing the launch of the game and it can be assumed that developers want to improve the game and only release it when they are confident.
It is also very common for console games to be pushed, as console players often look for more smooth gaming experiences than PC gamers.
The developers also showed off Dwarf Creator which will allow players to customize their Dwarfs as per their wishes including the choices for beards and hair, facial features, tattoos and scars, body type, as well as their Dwarf’s origin, voice, and personality type.
The Lord of the Rings Return to Moria will emphasize crafting and exploration and focuses on the exploits and trials of a group of dwarves led by Gimli Lockbearer who have set out to reclaim the Khazad-dûm, also known as Moria.
Mines of Moria or Khazad-dûm is originally featured in The Fellowship of the Ring novel and the 2001 film was a Dwarven kingdom, but was taken over by goblins. The game will reflect some moments from the film including its setting and atmosphere and John Rhys-Davies, the voice behind Gimli in Peter Jackson’s movie adaptations is also reprising his role as the son of Gloin.
Return to Moria will launch on PC with 8 player co-op on PC, and 4 player co-op on PlayStation 5 upon launch in December. Players can craft and build items in the mines to fight against formidable enemies they might encounter during their journey.
Players will unearth the mystery of the Misty Mountains, obtain rare metals, rebuild and refire forges, and more.
Players will find unique challenges and opportunities with nearly endless possibilities as they seek the “deepest delves of the Dwarves.” Players can also recreate the Fellowship’s Walk Through Moria in the game which takes over two hours. It is one of the most popular scenes from Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and Peter Jackson’s films.
The developers also created the secret dwarven language of Tolkien for players to hear their characters in the game. The Lord of the Rings Return to Moria will now launch for PC on October 24, for PS5 on December 5, and for Xbox Series X/S sometime in 2024.
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