Lord of the Rings Online to Get Major Visual Update

The Lord of the Rings franchise has been a part of our pop-culture consciousness for decades, with the saga hitting a fever-pitch following the release of Peter Jackson's film trilogy in the early '00s. Shortly afterwards, in 2007, fans were treated to The Lord of the Rings Online, a MMORPG game that allowed players to truly embody the epic fantasy world. The game has been churning along for over a decade at this point - and it sounds like it could soon be getting a major update in the coming years. During the recent investor presentation for EG7 (via PCGamesN), the company that recently purchased Lord of the Rings Online creator Daybreak Games, the company teases that an upgrade for the game set to arrive in 2022.

The listing claims that Daybreak is "planning visual and technical updates for LOTRO for PC and [next-gen] consoles to capitalize on Amazon's highly publicized large investment in [the Lord of the Rings] TV series."

While it's unclear exactly how robust this overhaul will be, it's definitely noteworthy for two reasons -- both for planning to land on the game's fifteenth anniversary, and for capitalizing on the upcoming Lord of the Rings TV series, which is set to hit Amazon Prime in the coming years. While there's still a lot of mystery surrounding the Lord of the Rings Amazon show, the idea of bringing a modernized version of the game just in time for the TV show definitely makes sense, especially as it's arguably one of the most accessible Lord of the Rings-related games available right now, and it could help fans further dive into the overall lore.

Amazon's Lord of the Rings series is written by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, who also serve as showrunners and executive producers. Bryan Cogman of Game of Thrones is on board as a consulting producer and J.A. Bayona will direct multiple episodes. The series' cast includes Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Maxim Baldry, Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman, Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Thusitha Jayasundera, Fabian McCallum, Simon Merrells, Geoff Morrell, Peter Mullan, Lloyd Owen, Augustus Prew, Peter Tait, Alex Tarrant, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker, Sara Zwangobani, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, and Daniel Weyman.

What do you think of The Lord of the Rings Online potentially getting a major update in the coming years? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!