EA sign new agreement
Electronic Arts today announced that it has renewed the license to launch additional games within the world created by J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic literary fiction, The Lord of the Rings, through 2008. EA has developed games based on New Line Cinema’s Academy Award winning theatrical productions of The Lord of the Rings since 2001. To date, the New Line Cinema feature film trilogy has grossed more than $3 billion worldwide. By moving ahead with this popular license, and the development of an all-new title scheduled for release in 2008, EA will continue to give gamers the most engaging experiences in the realm of Middle-earth.
“The Lord of the Rings is an incredible canvas to create epic games,” said Frank Gibeau, EA’s executive vice president and general manager of North American publishing. “We look forward to our next project with New Line Cinema and Tolkien Enterprises scheduled to ship in 2008.”
“We have a long history of making great games with EA and are thrilled to extend our longstanding relationship,” said David Imhoff, New Line’s senior executive vice president of worldwide licensing and merchandising. “We look forward to working closely with EA to create even more compelling Lord of the Rings adventures in the future.”
With EA and New Line Cinema’s continued partnership, fans can look forward to new, in-depth and compelling interactive adventures inspired by the books and movies of The Lord of the Rings. Details will be forthcoming on an all-new The Lord of the Rings title.
EA was granted the rights to The Lord of the Rings videogames based on the trilogy of books by J.R.R. Tolkien, in accordance with an agreement with the Saul Zaentz Company D/B/A Tolkien Enterprises, in addition to a separate agreement which allows for games based on the New Line Cinema films.
