Recently users on Steam and other platforms have discovered that both Lego iterations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit have been made unavailable to purchase without a real reason to why.
Warner bros. has not made an official statement to why the two titles were delisted from online marketplaces like the PlayStation Store and Xbox Store, but outlet Kotaku did manage to get a statement regarding the current status for both of Traveller’s tales titles:
Lego: The Lord of the Rings and Lego: The Hobbit will no longer be available for sale in digital stores. The games will remain in players’ libraries if they already own them.
Surprising that this would happen to any game at all, this isn’t the first occurrence for games in the same situation. The main pushing force to have titles delisted from store shelves usually revolve around licensing most commonly: for example, both Forza Horizon and its sequel met the same fate when the contract was up with the music for the title’s in-game radios.
For when we might ever see the titles return to online storefronts is left unknown. Most games unfortunate enough to receive this change of events tend to never return to platform store. But not completely, looking at Alan Wake which has eventually worked a deal to at least return to stores on Steam last year. Those who still want to join in on either of the lego titles still can, but you will have to rely on the burden of a physical copy to play.
If you missed out on my latest opinionated article, I discuss about how many gamers tend to overlook the lego adaptations of fan-favorite franchises and are missing out on a line of pretty solid games. You can read the full piece here.
Lego Lord of the Rings & Lego The Hobbit is available for most major platforms.
