Lord of the Rings video game trilogy to drop massive free expansion in October

The Lord of the Rings fans will soon be able to enjoy a brand new massive campaign expansion for Battle for Middle-earth II in October.

The original Battle for Middle-earth strategy games are among some of the most popular Lord of the Rings games for fans of the franchise, and that’s largely due to the high amount of mods released for them over the years.

Twenty years on from its original release, The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth II will be getting a free fan-made expansion that covers the entirety of the Peter Jackson film trilogy.

Titled 'A Long Expected Campaign', this new release is an add-on for the popular 'War of the Ring' mod for Battle for Middle-earth II.

It adds a campaign that begins with Gandalf’s arrival in the Shire at the very beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring, and takes us all the way through to the final battle at the Black Gate in Return of the King.

A short trailer released by the Age of the Ring Mod Team on YouTube shows off the beginning of the first mission, depicting Hobbiton preparing for Bilbo’s 111th birthday party, as well as Frodo going to meet Gandalf. Voice clips taken directly from the films also appear to be present in the mod.

The trailer then ends with a release date of October 31, 2026, where the update will be released for free on ModDB.

Aside from that, we don’t have a lot of information about what the content of the campaign will include. Presumably, we’ll get every major set piece from the three films directed by Peter Jackson.

That would include Weathertop, the Mines of Moria, Helm’s Deep, Minas Tirith, and the Black Gate finale. There may also be some additional missions that weren’t seen on screen, such as Gandalf assembling the Rohirrim in The Two Towers.

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'The Age of the Ring' is an essential mod for Battle for Middle-earth II players

'The Age of the Ring' mod for The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth II is a huge expansion which seamlessly blends content from Tolkien’s books and the movies directed by Peter Jackson.

The mod is seen as essential by fans as it introduces enough new content to become an unofficial third game, with hundreds of new skirmish maps, 11 new factions, expanded game mechanics, and this brand new campaign.

Previously, the first Battle for Middle-earth game was solely focused on content from the films, while Battle for Middle-earth II adapted content from the books, so a blending of the two with much more added is important for fans to have.

'A Long Expected Campaign' for 'War of the Ring' launches on October 31, 2026, and is available as a free standalone download.

Meanwhile, several other new works based on The Lord of the Rings are currently in development.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance developer Warhorse Studios has confirmed it's working on a Middle-earth RPG.

There are also two new films in development: The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum and Shadow of the Past, with the first one releasing in cinemas on December 17, 2027.