Return to Moria Delay on PS5 Just Before Launch, a Lord of the Rings Game

The highly anticipated PlayStation 5 (PS5) version of the co-op survival crafting RPG, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, has been delayed until December 5, following an announcement from developer Free Range Games and publisher North Beach Games. This unexpected shift, disclosed a few days before the game's proposed launch, stirred major disappointment among fans. However, the creator companies assured they're utilizing the surplus time for enhancing several aspects of the PS5 edition of the game.

Return to Moria, set in J.R.R. Tolkien's fantastical world of Middle-earth against the backdrop of the Fourth Age, transforms players into a band of dwarves led by Gimli Lockbearer and challenges them to explore the profound recesses of Khazad-dûm, or Moria. The game's design places significant emphasis on crafting, exploration, and cooperative gameplay—with an eight-player co-op for PC, and a four-player co-op for the upcoming PS5 version. Notably, John Rhys-Davies, the voice of Gimli in Peter Jackson's movie adaptations, returns to voice the iconic Gloin's son.

Team players will get an opportunity to recreate the Fellowship's Walk Through Moria, a challenging quest that takes over two hours in-game. The developers have also intricately built Tolkien's secret dwarven language, further echoing the original ethos. The game will be available digitally and physically at retail from December 5, 2023, with versions for Xbox Series X and S planned for early 2024.