The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Sequel in Development at Free Range Games

It appears that Free Range Games is developing a sequel to The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, the 2023 survival crafting game set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendary universe. The news surfaced after researcher Timur222 spotted a revealing update on LinkedIn from a former Executive Producer at the California-based studio, who mentioned overseeing the “post-production lifecycle of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria franchise (and sequel)” before being laid off last week.

In her profile, the former producer described her role as leading “large-scale creative and technical initiatives” for AAA productions, managing global development teams, and coordinating closely with executive leadership to define production strategies and improve operational efficiency. She further revealed that she had also worked on an unannounced new IP with a budget exceeding $100 million and a 130-person distributed development team, signaling that Free Range Games currently has multiple large-scale projects in development.

The mention of a Return to Moria sequel strongly indicates that the first game performed well commercially and critically enough to justify continued investment in the franchise. While Free Range Games has not yet made an official announcement, this discovery aligns with the studio’s growing ambitions and recent expansion efforts.

Meanwhile, the developer is preparing to release Durin’s Folk, a substantial DLC expansion for The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, scheduled to launch on November 18, 2025, across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. The upcoming expansion promises roughly 20 hours of new content, alongside new gameplay systems and quality-of-life improvements.

The DLC will introduce the new explorable region Durin’s Tower, trading camps near Moria’s gates, and a recruiting camp located at Dimmer Dale. One of its most notable additions is the ability to recruit NPC dwarves with unique skills and specializations, enabling players to establish and manage delvings, underground mining bases that can be expanded with new structures and features.

The confirmation of a sequel and the imminent release of major DLC mark an important milestone for Free Range Games, signaling the studio’s continued investment in Tolkien-inspired projects. The strong performance of Return to Moria contrasts with recent setbacks in other Lord of the Rings gaming ventures, such as Amazon’s repeatedly cancelled MMO.

Adding to the excitement, recent industry rumors also suggest that another The Lord of the Rings game is in early development, described as a large-scale action-adventure project designed to rival the success of Hogwarts Legacy. If true, Tolkien fans could soon see a resurgence of Middle-earth-based titles across multiple genres and platforms.

Would you like to see The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria evolve into a full-fledged franchise, or do you prefer a fresh interpretation of Middle-earth in future games? Share your thoughts below.