Electronic Arts won't be publishing any more games under the Lord of the Rings licence, as the rights have reverted back to Warner Bros.

That's according to a report by Variety, which suggests Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will now develop titles in the series. New movies based on Tolkien's The Hobbit are due in 2011 and 2012.

New Line Cinema's agreement with EA ended last year, and the last title released under the deal was the critical flop Lord of the Rings: Conquest.

Time Warner also has a large stake in developer Turbine, the studio behind MMO The Lord of the Rings Online.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...back-at-warner