2015 APRIL FOOLS
So the Revora inbox received this just now:
WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES
THE BATTLE FOR MIDDLE-EARTH 3: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES
FOR XBOX ONE™, PLAYSTATION® 4, and WINDOWS™ PC
THE BELOVED MIDDLE-EARTH REAL TIME STRATEGY GAME RETURNS
Burbank, Calif. - March 31, 2015 - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announces today that The Battle for Middle-earth 3: The Battle of the Five Armies, an epic real time strategy game based on J.R.R. Tolkien's renowned novels is set to launch on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, the Xbox One® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows® PC in 2016.
"Having secured the rights to this fabled franchise, we can finally bring The Battle for Middle-earth into the current generation of video games," says Isaac Johnston, High King, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. "Utilizing the award-winning people behind 2014's 'Shadow of Mordor', we are looking to both satisfy the existing The Battle for Middle-earth fanbase as well as evolve its concepts to attract new gamers to this franchise. This is going to be the Lord of the Rings RTS experience fans have been waiting for."
Developed in association with Middle-earth Enterprises, The Battle for Middle-earth 3: The Battle of the Five Armies is based primarily on the recently concluded The Hobbit trilogy, bringing with it an extensive campaign (playable both on- and offline) mixing RPG elements with the familiar Battle for Middle-earth RTS quality. Players will take control of Thorin and his Company as they set out to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the terrible Smaug. Move strategically across Middle-earth using the all-new Living World Map, defeat the forces of Azog and the Necromancer, and raise your armies to prevent the destruction of all free folk.
Choose your side as you play online against your friends, taking command of one of eight unique factions. The Battle for Middle-earth 3: The Battle of the Five Armies sees the return of old favorites Gondor, Rohan, Mordor and Isengard, while adding the new, Hobbit-based factions of the noble Greenwood, sturdy Erebor, savage Gundabad and sinister Dol Guldur. Rise through the ranks of the official Battle for Middle-earth 3: The Battle of the Five Armies ladder and prove that you are the greatest commander in Middle-earth.
As you can imagine, I am currently picking my jaw up off the floor. It's looking very early days still, but still, I can glean so much promise from the first bits of information.
Here's hoping for modding tools.