Tales of the Shire release date, trailers, gameplay, and latest news

When is the Tales of the Shire release date? Tales of the Shire is the Lord of the Rings game we never knew we needed. A cute, cozy farming sim like Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing, Tales of the Shire turns you into a Hobbit as you embark on a relaxing, homely life in the idyllic Middle-Earth countryside.

There’s so much more to Tales of the Shire than farming, though, as you truly get immersed in the hobbit life. As a full-blown life sim, the Lord of the Rings game has you cooking wholesome meals for your friends, trading gifts, farming, fishing, and so much more. So, let’s look forward to the Tales of the Shire release date, with trailers, gameplay, and the latest news.

Tales of the Shire release date

The Tales of the Shire release date is Tuesday, March 25, 2025. This was confirmed by Private Division and Weta Workshop on Hobbit Day 2024. The game launches on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series consoles, and Netflix Games.

Hobbit Day is a name given to September 22 by fans of JRR Tolkien’s Middle-earth franchise as it is the birthday of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. To celebrate, on September 22, 2024, Weta Workshop broadcasted some detailed information about the new life sim including its 2025 release date.

Speaking of relevant dates, the Tales of the Shire release date itself is a poignant date. In Tolkien lore, March 25 is the date of Sauron’s downfall as Gollum fell with the One Ring into the Cracks of Doom. As such, March 25 is an important date in the LOTR fandom, and is even observed as Tolkien Reading Day to some.

The Hobbit Day broadcast also shed some light on some behind-the-scenes development, including just how much expertise the Weta Workshop team has when it comes to works of Tolkien, so we think we’re in pretty good hands with Tales of the Shire.

Trailers

In terms of official trailers, we’ve so far only seen the official reveal trailer and the release date trailer. There have been plenty of other gameplay and development videos though, including the longer Hobbit Day broadcast itself.

The announcement trailer below tells us that Tales of the Shire takes place in Bywater, a small location in the central Shire. The Shire is a complex location, one that Tolkien developed in great detail, inspired mostly by real British locations. Bywater is almost perfectly in the middle of the four farthings of The Shire, and is just south of the well-known Hobbiton, home of the Baggins’. Fans of LotR may also recognize the name Bywater as the location of the Battle of Bywater, the final battle in the events of the War of the Ring.

Wars don’t appear to be anywhere in sight in Tales of the Shire, though, and the wizened voice over at the start of the trailer tells us that this isn’t a story of fear, but one of new beginnings. From there, we see images of the Hobbits cooking, farming, fishing, and more.

The Tales of the Shire gameplay trailer shows us how gardening and farming works, tending to and harvesting plants, flowers, and vegetables from lupins, hollyhocks, and pumpkins. You can take your ingredients into the kitchen to make creamy pumpkin soup and other tasty recipes using onions, pumpkins, and cream, and then serve them to your guests in your dining room. We also see decorating in more detail, including customizing the flooring and lighting, and placing furniture.

Gameplay

Tales of the Shire contains much of the same mechanics we’re used to from other life games. As we’ve mentioned, there is fishing, farming, and cooking galore. However, we expect much of this to be more detailed than we’ve perhaps seen in other games, as previews and gameplay footage has so far revealed that the cooking mechanics in particular are incredibly in depth.

Like other games like Animal Crossing, it also seems that Tales of the Shire puts a spotlight on friendships across The Shire, and the initial announcement trailer shows that cooking your friends’ favorite meals is at least one of the ways to their heart.

A recent gameplay deep dive exposed more of these cooking mechanics, including a glimpse at your pantry – where all your hard-earned ingredients are kept – and details about flavors, ingredient quality ratings, and how pivotal meals are in the game. In true Hobbit fashion, you’ll host lavish dinner parties with more food than you can eat, but you’ll need to listen to your guests likes and dislikes closely to make the best meals – and the best friendships.

There also appears to be a huge focus on customization as your hobbit home can be fully kitted out the way you see fit. Each room, from your bedroom to your kitchen, your lounge area and your garden can be fuly customized. While it seems there’s a lot to Tales of the Shire, it appears to successfully give players the agency to play as they want, be that home building, cooking, farming, or a bit of everything.

We can’t wait for the Tales of the Shire release date and, if you can’t either, then try some of our other favorite farming sims and cooking games in the meantime.