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How Facing Skyrim 10 Days Early Doomed Lord of the Rings: War in the North
A former Warner Bros. developer reveals that management overruled warnings about releasing Lord of the Rings: War in the North just 10 days before Skyrim in 2011.
In the brutal arena of AAA game publishing, timing isn’t just everything—it’s often a matter of absolute survival. Back in November 2011, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment committed a cardinal sin in the annals of industry strategy by steering their co-op action RPG, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, directly into the path of a historic gaming juggernaut. Releasing a high-profile fantasy title a mere ten days before Bethesda unleashed The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was nothing short of sacrificial, a blunder that a former developer recently brought back into the spotlight.
Christian Allen, who served as design director at WB Games Seattle during the game’s production, took to social media following the surprise announcement of the title’s polished Legacy Edition on Steam. Reflecting on the tumultuous 2011 launch, Allen revealed that he had vehemently argued against the disastrous release window, warning executives that the title would be entirely drowned out. Tragically, those warnings fell on deaf ears, and the game was completely overshadowed by Todd Howard’s cultural phenomenon. Compounding the catastrophic release date was a shockingly passive marketing campaign, wherein the publisher seemingly expected J.R.R. Tolkien’s immortal IP to magically market itself without heavy promotional lifting.
From Snowblind to Shadow of Mordor: The Redemption Arc
The fallout from that poorly managed launch was swift and severe. Snowblind Studios, the talented developer behind War in the North, was absorbed into Monolith Productions in 2012, effectively dissolving the original studio identity. Yet, corporate tragedies often pave the way for unexpected triumphs. Many of those displaced Snowblind developers funneled their expertise into Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, a critical and commercial darling that finally delivered the definitive Middle-earth action experience that fans had been craving. As War in the North enjoys a well-deserved renaissance on Steam with its modern updates, we are left to ponder what might have been if corporate leadership had simply listened to their development team instead of marching a promising fellowship straight into the jaws of Skyrim.
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