Lord of the Rings Open-World RPG Already Exists In 2026 GOTY Contender

The Lord of the Rings has been criminally under-serviced in terms of video games. It needs another open-world RPG.

There was a time where Lord of the Rings got nothing short of back-to-back bangers when it came to game adaptations.

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King for the PlayStation 2 is a god-tier game and Shadow of the Mordor impressed us all with its industry-defining Nemesis system, a game mechanic that was shelved too soon.

Recent years have been abysmal and while there have been a couple of wins here and there, every Return to Moria has its Gollum…

We need more strong, polished games for this legendary franchise but in the meantime this open-world Game of the Year contender should satisfy your desire.

Lord of the Rings Can Take Some Notes

The upcoming Lord of the Rings RPG is sounding more and more like a Hogwarts Legacy killer and if it’s anywhere near as good as this, fans are going to love it.

Crimson Desert quickly became a critically-acclaimed title with one of the largest and most-impressive open-worlds we’ve ever seen.

Gamers have been playing it for weeks now yet no one is even close to see everything it has to offer.

Secret side quests, bizarre fishing spots and experimental traversal mechanics have kept players engaged, and more importantly talking about it online.

Word-of-mouth has been a big factor in the game’s success and recently players have taken to social media and online forums to highlight what an excellent impromptu Lord of the Rings game Crimson Desert can be.

“There are Lord of the Rings easter eggs in Crimson Desert. You can buy this Parvel Greatsword from a vendor near the Delesyian Institute,” said Zephryss on X.

There are Lord of the Rings easter eggs in Crimson Desert. You can buy this Parvel Greatsword from a vendor near the Delesyian Institute. pic.twitter.com/kMfBZaRosd

— Zephryss⛩️ (@TheRealZephryss) April 14, 2026

Yes that’s right, you can wield Aragorn’s famed sword from the trilogy in-game. With a bit of practice you might even wield it better than Viggo Mortensen’s recast in the new Lord of the Rings film…

It’s not just swords you can find in Crimson Desert though, as you can actually recreate some of the iconic outfits seen in the films.

One player in the comments of the above post revealed Sauron’s helmet can be found in the game. You can even recreate the look of a Ranger of Gondor according to a different post by LUCKYY10P.

Crimson Desert player recreates the look of the Rangers of Gondor with their character.

Credit: Fireboiio pic.twitter.com/B8Zs7OgJD5

— LUCKYY10P (@LUCKYY10P) April 9, 2026

READ MORE: New Lord of the Rings RPG Has Open-World Feature That Rivals Hogwarts Legacy

Crimson Desert is a fantastic game if you want to larp like a character from Lord of the Rings, and is probably the closest you’ll get to a new open-world RPG for the franchise until the new one comes out.