Tales of the Shire is the coziest take on the Lord of the Rings universe yet, putting players in the shoes of a Hobbit in the midst of Hobbiton and tasking them with uniting the community surrounding Bywater. You'll be able to fish in ponds, produce food and crops, forage for fruit, and trade with townsfolk to better your comfy life.
Revealed earlier this year from developer Weta Workshop Game Studio - a subsidiary of Weta Workshop best known for working on the Lord of the Rings movies - the storybook life sim set in Middle-earth gives off some Stardew Valley vibes and promises to be a great entry point for newcomers alongside longtime fans of Tolkien's universe.
From everything we've seen so far, it's already fast becoming one of the most exciting new games for us to look forward to. And, although the game is now delayed to 2025, it still plans to release across multiple platforms, making it also among the most anticipated upcoming PS5 games, upcoming Xbox Series X games, upcoming PC games, and new Switch games.
Read on below for a full recap of everything we know so far about Tales of the Shire.
Tales of the Shire release date
The Tales of the Shire release date has been confirmed as March 25, 2025. This news came our way on Hobbit Day (aka September 22), along with a wave of new footage and early reviews.
Originally, the publisher, Private Division, had said that we'd get to start our Hobbit story in 2024. However, this was pushed back as the new game simply needs more time to be perfected. What's more, Tales of the Shire will be available across PC and console platforms alike, as well as on Nintendo Switch.
So you'll be able to play the cozy Lord of the Rings game on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Tales of the Shire Early Access
With life simulators and cozy games like Tales of the Shire, it's not uncommon for titles to launch into Early Access, and introduce new features gradually over months while the full release hangs back - just look at Reka, the latest addition to games like Stardew Valley to play on PC, which released in Early Access on September 12, 2024.
However, there's zero indication that Tales of the Shire will receive an Early Access launch as of right now. The full game will be arriving simultaneously across console, PC, and Nintendo Switch platforms in 2025. However, there's nothing to say there might not be post-launch support with new features for Tales of the Shire after it debuts.
Tales of the Shire trailer
Right now, we only have three Tales of the Shire trailers to go off, and you can see two of them in full for yourself here. The first trailer above is the one used to announce the game, and so it's more conceptual in general - you don't get a look at gameplay, for example.
However, down below, you'll get to see a more in-depth teaser that shows several mechanics like fishing, cooking, and more. We even get a look at some iconic Lord of the Rings characters like Gandalf!
Tales of the Shire gameplay
A better look at Tales of the Shire's gameplay comes in the more recent trailer above, released by Nintendo just earlier this year. This time, we're getting a good look at Hobbits roaming around Hobbiton, hanging out together near the edge of lush lakes, foraging for food, and baking goods.
The above trailer is a really good look at how Tales of the Shire is going to play, and the general speed and rhythm of the game. In short, as you might not be surprised to hear, it's likely going to be a slow-moving adventure, just like we've come to expect from farming sims like Stardew Valley and such.
As we mentioned in our Tales of the Shire preview, the upcoming game stands out thanks to its cooking mechanics. Instead of just making sure you have all the needed ingredients in your inventory when it comes to crafting a dish, you can chop, fry, and season your food - which will result in different textures. Getting the right combinations and serving the best plates at your Hobbit dinner parties is the main focus of the game, currently.
While our first taste of Tales of the Shire wasn't perfect (with its heavy focus on fetch-quests and sometimes non-cozy weather animations), it is still promising. Honestly, with a little more fine-tuning, we may just have a new entry to the best Lord of the Rings games on our hands here.
Is Tales of the Shire multiplayer?
Unfortunately, if you were hoping to roam around Hobbiton with your friends, it looks like you're firmly out of luck. Steam's store page for Tales of the Shire has a ‘Singleplayer' tag listed by publisher Private Division, so put those multiplayer dreams to bed.
It's also worth pointing out that we probably shouldn't hold out hope for a multiplayer mode further down the line. Adding a multiplayer mode for any game isn't as simple as flicking a switch - there's servers to purchase and maintain and features to adjust and fine tune, for example. Let's not get our hopes up for now.
Tales of the Shire news
- Lord of the Rings finally meets Stardew Valley in March as Tales of the Shire sets a new release date
- Cute and cozy Lord of the Rings life sim Tales of the Shire delayed to early 2025
- Tales of the Shire is more than Lord of the Rings-branded Stardew Valley, and it fixes one of the genre's biggest problems
- The cutest Lord of the Rings game yet gets its first trailer, and I immediately want to live in this Hobbit take on a Stardew Valley-like life sim
- Cozy Lord of the Rings game pops up for the first time in 6 months with a sneak peek, and there'’s “more to come soon”
For recommendations, you can play right now; here's our pick of the best simulator games. Or, if you want more Middle-earth fun, check out our in-depth guide on The Rings of Power season 2.
