An offshoot of Take-Two, Private Division's primary job ever since its inception has been to highlight smaller-scale productions and AA games, rather than to focus on getting yet more AAA titles out of the door. Some of its previous projects and acquisitions include OlliOlli World, Kerbal Space Program, and The Outer Worlds, as well as the often forgotten sci-fi FPS, Disintegration.
Now, however, Private Division may have received the opportunity to work on its most prolific project yet, as the publisher just announced it's going to be developing a new Middle-earth game in conjunction with the legendary design and conceptualization company, Weta Workshop. While the details about this new game are sparse, some information has already been shared.
In its latest press release, Private Division announced that it's now entered into a publishing deal with Weta Workshop, where the two companies would bring an all-new Middle-earth video game to light, which is currently slated for a 2024 release date. Private Division previously signed up indie game developers such as Roll7 and its widely acclaimed OlliOlli series, while its new partnership with Weta Workshop may signify a bigger, more comprehensive production than some may have otherwise expected.
One curious tidbit was shared by Amie Wolken, the Head of Interactive at Weta Workshop. According to Wolken, this Middle-earth game is supposed to be substantially different "from what fans have played previously," though there was no suggestion as to what this difference may entail. Some of Private Division's previous publications, such as the recently revealed Rollerdome from OlliOlli developers, have featured stark, distinctive visual styles and gameplay loops, suggesting some amount of thinking outside the box, perhaps.
Aside from a promise of making the game "different," press release doesn't offer any real details about the upcoming Middle-earth title, other than the notion that Private Division and Weta Workshop's combined efforts are bound to create a "distinctive, new Middle-earth gaming experience." Take-Two Interactive promised a strong development pipeline for its daughter companies up until 2024, and odds are good that this announcement had the new Weta Workshop Middle-Earth game in mind for Private Division at that point in time.
It is curious to note that Daedalic Entertainment's Gollum action-adventure is going to be coming out sometime in the near, albeit indeterminate, future. This suggests that there's been a push to create more Middle-earth games at some point in the relatively near past, and that there may be more such productions getting announced in the future, too. As of right now, fans of Tolkien's work can do little more than wait.
Private Division's Weta Workshop Middle-earth game is currently in production.
Source: Private Division