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Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth devs on hero collection & what-if battles

Design director Jay Ambrosini spoke to us about mobile title Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth, fantasy LOTR fights, and more.

TJ Denzer

May 31, 2023 4:50 PM

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The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth is a free-to-play mobile game that is available now. Electronic Arts and Capital Games brought the high-fantasy universe of J.R.R. Tolkien to play as a character-collecting RPG in which players can collect and assemble their favorite heroes and villains of LOTR lore. So, what sets this apart from other free-to-play mobile titles? Our own Greg Burke spoke with design director Jay Ambrosini to find out.

One of the most interesting parts of Heroes of Middle-earth is that it provides a foundation for countless what-if scenarios for players. You can gather characters like the Hobbits, Strider, Elrond, Gandalf, and many more and pit them against other players or story quests in the game. That means you can have fantasy battles such as who would win in a fight between Strider and Elrond. You’re not tied down to just good characters either. There are a number of famous evil characters in the game including trolls, orcs, and even the Goblin King. The game features content for all of these characters, including a light side, dark side, and a side in which evil and good characters can be teamed up.

Ambrosini said that a core idea behind the fun of Heroes of Middle-earth was the feeling he got when he and his friends would get action figures and play in the backyard, pitting various characters from various universes against one another. However, Ambrosini is also well-aware of the stigma associated with free-to-play games and especially in the mobile space. Nonetheless, he feels that the free-to-play model opens the game up to more players to see if the game is good enough for them to stick with. Moreover, the team is continuously developing new characters, content, quests, and further fun from extended Lord of the Rings lore so Heroes of Middle-earth players should have plenty of fun things to look forward to in addition to what the game features now.

The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth is available now on iOS and Android devices. Want more videos like this Heroes of Middle-earth interview? Be sure to check out our YouTube channels at Shacknews and Shacknews Interviews where you’ll find our video reviews, gameplay, unboxings, and more on the latest video games, technology, and toys.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.