The video game rights for both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit have been put up for sale.
As reported by Variety, current owner Saul Zaentz Co. has decided to sell its Tolkien holdings, which include precious merchandising, movie, video game, and live event rights for The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and other titles from J.R.R. Tolkien.
The news comes as Amazon starts to officially unveil its long-awaited The Lord of the Rings television series, which has been dubbed The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
It’ll be interesting to see whether Amazon attempts to purchase any additional rights to the franchise, particularly given its recent attempts to break into the video game market as a developer and publisher.
Middle-earth has become a familiar setting for games over the years. There have been movie tie-ins and spin-offs like The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, massively multiplayer projects such as The Lord of the Rings Online, and others like the Middle-earth series that play fast-and-loose with the source material.
Zaentz’s various Tolkien properties are expected to sell for at least $2 billion.