Following the success of its popular mobile game, The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth, Kabam and Warner Bros. have launched a new version, The Hobbit: Armies of The Third Age. This free-to-play game is available on Facebook, Kabam.com, and the Google Chrome Store in English, French, German, and Spanish.
Though you cannot cross-play between the web and mobile games, the two are similar in the sense that both are combat strategy games, wherein you can join an Alliance and play in real-time with other gamers. In The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age, the player selects a character (such as Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, or Radagast the Brown) and leads an army of Elves, Dwarves, or Orcs. (In the mobile game, the player can select multiple heroes to assist in building and defending their city.)
As Andrew Sheppard, president of Kabam Game Studios, explains, “The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age and The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth deliver two immersive and dramatically different ways to experience the most iconic fantasy world of all time, across the Web and mobile devices.”
“Kabam is unique in its ability to deliver compelling, high-fidelity free-to-play games across genres and platforms.”
“We’re eager to bring The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age to the millions of Middle-earth fans who engage online,” adds Greg Ballard, the senior vice president (digital games) for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “The Facebook and browser-based portals are key locations where The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film fans can regularly engage with Middle-earth in a shared interactive environment.”
Although I have never been overly excited about combat strategy games, I gave The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth a chance and immediately became hooked; however, I am not a huge fan of mobile gaming, so I am personally looking forward to trying Armies of the Third Age as a browser-based alternative. I hope you’ll join me!
