Former WB Games Director Says Skyrim Comparisons Hurt The Lord of the Rings: War in the North

Christian Allen, former WB Games design director, said he had argued against releasing The Lord of the Rings: War in the North so close to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but the warning went unheeded. The original game launched in November 2011, about 15 days before Skyrim, and Allen says that timing helped drag the game down in the eyes of reviewers and players.

In Allen's view, the problem was not just that the two games arrived almost at the same time. War in the North was widely compared with Skyrim in reviews, and those comparisons were unfavorable to the Lord of the Rings game. He added that the project had almost no marketing at launch, which left it even more exposed.

Allen also suggested that Warner Bros. may have chosen the release date because of quarterly revenue considerations rather than a cleaner window away from one of the biggest games of the time.

The discussion comes as Aspyr Media has released The Lord of the Rings: War in the North — Legacy Edition on modern platforms. The updated version is available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, and Switch, costs $19.99, and includes 60 frames per second support except on the original Switch.

Beyond the frame rate boost, the remaster adds auto-saves, additional save slots, enemy lock-on, and improved AI with visible health, mana, and experience bars. Allen said he is glad the game finally received a worthy release, suggesting the new version gives War in the North the second chance he felt it never had at launch.

Do you think a different release window could have changed the fate of War in the North?