Free League Publishing announced that it has acquired the rights to publish Middle-earth tabletop roleplaying games from Sophisticated Games. The rights to publish Middle-earth were recently up for grabs after Cubicle 7 ceased publication of The One Ring over contractual differences with Sophisticated Games (see "Dispute Ends Cubicle 7's 'The One Ring' Publishing Agreement").

Free League plans to make a new edition of The One Ring as well as a 5E compatible iteration. They've also opted to retain Francesco Nepitello as the lead designer of the RPG series.

"We are thrilled to be working with Sophisticated Games and Francesco Nepitello to bring to life a new edition of The One Ring and its 5E iteration. We grew up with J.R.R. Tolkien's iconic works and we're huge fans of the original version of the game. We have a very similar approach to game design as Francesco and we're convinced that we can create something truly special together," Free League’s CEO Tomas Härenstam says.

This agreement will go into effect on June 1, 2020, and all products will be announced at a later date.