Ten days ago, Private Division and Wētā Workshop announced that their cozy single player life simulation game Tales of the Shire would be delayed to early 2025.
Yesterday, during the Hobbit Day celebration, we got the new release date: March 25, 2025. That wasn’t all, however, as the developers also provided a lengthy gameplay showcase.
We love Hobbits, and with Tales of the Shire, we want to immerse you in their world. That could mean tending your garden season by season, seeing what you can catch in Bywater pool, or just taking a stroll by the creek and enjoying the day. We knew that capturing the feeling of the Shire was really crucial to our player experience. The Shire is easygoing. It’s a place where Hobbits rest in the afternoon sun on a cool summer’s day. It’s joyous, it’s full of the laughter of chitchatting neighbors, and it’s cozy. It’s a place where you can cuddle up in your own Hobbit hole with a hot cup of tea.
One of our biggest goals is to really deliver on these feelings and immerse the players in them. Every aspect of the game has been carefully crafted drawing on our years of experience with The Lord of the Rings and with Tolkien’s books always as our guide. Each bridge, path, plant, Hobbit home, and second breakfast is drawn from the original vision the game is a homage to all those wonderful details and the spirit we fell in love with when we first encountered the Shire.
The core of our game centers on building community and fellowship. You spend your time in the village of Bywater helping to lift the community up and sharing home-cooked meals with other Hobbits. As your ties to the community of Bywater and your bonds with your friends grow, your fellowship increases, which allows you to progress in the story.
Tales of the Shire will be available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X, and Nintendo Switch. Pricing info hasn’t been shared yet.
