One of the Best New Lord of the Rings Games Is Getting Its First Major Expansion Very Soon

October 21, 2025, 2:02pm

It’s no secret that The Lord of the Rings has had some rough game adaptations in recent years. With impressive past titles like The Return of the King and Shadow of Mordor, it’s hard to believe how badly some recent installments have performed. Gollum was perhaps one of the worst games released in recent memory, period. And though some of us enjoyed Tales of the Shire, it fell short of expectations for many fans. Yet not every recent Lord of the Rings game has been poorly received across the board.

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2024 survival crafting game Return to Moria got middling reviews at launch, but has been a hit with a small but mighty fanbase on Steam. Compared to other recent releases, it has fared pretty well with a specific subset of Lord of the Rings fans over time. And soon, players will get to delve even deeper thanks to a brand-new expansion pack. Return to Moria has had a few DLC packs before, but they were mostly cosmetic additions. After unveiling a new expansion earlier this year, Free Range Games has finally announced the release date for the Durin’s Folk DLC. And it’s coming out in less than a month!

Return to Moria Sets Release Date for First Major Expansion, Durin’s Folk

The Durin’s Folk expansion DLC has been in the works for a while. It was first announced at San Diego Comic-Con back in July, and we’ve had a few sporadic details since then. But with an exciting new trailer, the official release date for Durin’s Folk has been confirmed. The first major expansion for the survival crafting Lord of the Rings game will arrive on November 18th. To get a sense of what it will bring to the game, you can check out the new Durin’s Folk trailer below:

This new expansion will add another story chapter to Return to Moria, giving players more to delve into. It will also add the ability to rescue and recruit NPCs, which just might help with the balance issue many players noticed with single-player attempts to thrive in Moria. Along with these additions, the DLC will add new multiplayer expeditions and new areas to explore, while also updating the end-game economy.

In total, Durin’s Folk will add over 20 hours of content to Return to Moria. And that’s good news for one of the better Lord of the Rings games we’ve seen in recent years. Though the base game received middling scores from critics at launch, it has found its footing on Steam with a Mostly Positive rating from survival crafting fans. Now, this new expansion just might bring more players back to the mines to see what they can unearth as they work to rebuild Moria.