Rights to make game adaptations of Lord of the Rings series up for sale, popular LOTR mod copyright claimed
Licensing rights for media involving the Lord of the Rings franchise are about to be sold to the highest bidder, according to a report from Variety. The Saul Zeantz Company, which has owned the rights to all things Middle Earth for a while now, is about to sell the gaming, event, and merchandising rights to the ever-popular Tolkein series. This will be the first time in 50 years that interested parties will be able to vie to acquire the rights, with Amazon reported to be willing to offer the most money for them.
This news has also led to the takedown of a Lord of the Rings-focused modpack for Total War titled Rise of Mordor. WB, who as of right now, still owns the rights to make games based on the LOTR franchise, has copyright claimed the mod, leading to the removal of it from ModDB. Rise of Mordor had been in the works since at least 2018, and was being worked on by a team of fans who wanted to create both a multiplayer and campaign focused on the series. The mod was also going to have custom animations for trolls, wargs, and other LOTR creatures, and a full recreation of a lore-accurate map of Middle Earth.
Following the takedown notice from Warner Bros., the team behind the mod are going to rebrand their concept into something that doesn't have a license, and they're currently asking fans what they'd like to see instead.
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