Lee Guinchard, CEO of Embracer Freemode, has expressed a clear desire to produce more Lord of the Rings games. But caution seems appropriate.
As a reminder, Embracer Freemode will soon become Middle-Earth Enterprises & Friends. Lee Guinchard, the CEO of the future studio that will be responsible for developing the Lord of the Rings games, has high hopes in this regard. At least that’s what we can tell from his interview with Gamesbeat. But certain keywords used regarding the future of video game adaptations of the Tolkien universe make one wonder.
The return of good Lord of the Rings games?
In April, Embracer Group announced its split into three independent companies: Asmodee Group, Coffe Stain and Friends and Middle-Earth Enterprises and Friends. This a priori in order to improve the development process. The third company, led by Lee Guinchard, will, as the name suggests, have strong licenses such as Tomb Raider and, logically, Lord of the Rings.
The company’s CEO seems excited about the future of video game adaptations of The Lord of the Rings. He compares the franchise to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and draws parallels to the different experiences such a rich story can create. “ Year after year we can add and test new ideas, for example with Call of Duty. But it is neither a story nor a narrative framework. We can keep the ideas that work ».
Lee Guinchard also points out that his company is working on experimental technology based on artificial intelligence. In particular, there is talk of a tool that can be used to age characters. During the interview, he was asked questions about the dismal failure of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. According to its CEO, Middle-Earth Enterprises & Friends intends to learn from past mistakes to create better experiences in the future. Whether this will be the case for annual games based on Tolkien’s universe and potentially using AI has yet to be determined.
