They brought the Hobbit to 2025 – the warm life simulation game “The Shire: The Lord of the Rings” was delayed

For those hoping to escape into the comforts of hobbit life, The Shire has been delayed until 2025.

While there seem to be an endless amount of heartwarming games to play right now, it’s no surprise that fans of The Lord of the Rings are particularly interested in The Shire. You can become a hobbit, do things like fishing, farming, cooking, and explore the world of The Lord of the Rings in a low-stakes way. What’s not to love? The game was originally scheduled to launch sometime this year, but as the end of the year approaches, Wätä Workshop has bad news: the game has been delayed until 2025. This is obviously not the news you want to hear, especially when one of the latest video games set in Middle-earth is The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.

“All of us at Wätä Workshop are delighted that you’ll join us in The Shire, a peaceful corner of JRR Tolkien’s world,” wrote Wätä Workshop in a statement. “When a new hobbit first steps into the Bywater, we want that moment to be everything you’d hoped it would be. To ensure we deliver on that vision, Tales of the Shire will be available in early 2025. Thank you for your patience and continued support. Be sure to tune in to our Hobbit Day showcase on September 22nd for more information on Tales of the Shire and our new release date.”

The good news is that a more concrete release date is coming soon, which will hopefully soften the blow a bit.

The Shire is just the latest in a long line of new Lord of the Rings projects, which are also adding some new content – like a new Gollum-centric movie, which might actually be two movies.