$1 million Hobbit game pitch shows off a never-before-seen LOTR game

The Tolkien universe is so rich with content that it has spawned several game adaptations, some were extremely successful, and others didn't see the light of day. Today, we have learned of one that never saw the light of day.

According to a new video released on the GameHut YouTube Channel, Jon Burton, the founder of studio Traveller's Tales, who is known for the Lego games, revealed a series of demos that the studio originally made as a pitch for a new Hobbit game. The idea was that the developers were going to use the first Lord of the Rings movie as a template to create a video game movie adaptation.

The developers then would show those playable demos to Peter Jackson and Guillermo Del Toro, and if approved by them and Warner Bros., they would begin creating a Hobbit game that would launch around the same time as the first movie. Burton and his team created some of the most famous moments from the Lord of the Rings franchise, such as Gandalf fighting the Balrog, Frodo and Samwise walking through The Shire and escaping the Ringwraiths, as well as more. According to Burton, these demos cost the studio over $1 million.

Unfortunately, while both Peter Jackson and Guillermo Del Toro liked what Burton and his studio created, Warner Bros. didn't want a live-action Hobbit game. This was a blessing in disguise, according to Burton, as the movie ended up being delayed by a year, and the game development studio ended up creating Lego versions of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings anyway.