Traveller's Tales spent $1m making a demo for a non-Lego Hobbit game that never came out Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Traveller's Tales spent $1m making a demo for a non-Lego Hobbit game that never came out You shall not pass greenlight! News by Wesley Yin-Poole Deputy Editorial Director Updated on 23 Jun 2020 16 comments Traveller's Tales spent $1m making a demo for a non-Lego Hobbit game that never saw the light of day. In a video from Jon Burton, founder of Lego game developer Traveller's Tales, footage of various The Lord of the Rings-themed demos reveals the effort the studio put into its bid to make a The Hobbit movie tie-in game over a decade ago. Burton, as part of his superb GameHut video series, discusses the $1m the studio spent making an Xbox 360 demo in just six months back in 2008. This demo was designed to convince The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro, who at the time was attached to The Hobbit movie, that Traveller's Tales was capable of making a non-Lego game based on the upcoming film. To do this, Traveller's Tales built four polished, playable The Lord of the Rings-themed levels, including two stealth demos featuring Frodo, a Gandalf versus Saruman demo, and a Gandalf versus the Balrog demo, plus five additional tech demos, including an Aragorn combat tech demo. "So we basically went way too far and spent way too much money making this demo, but I really wanted to show what we could do beyond just the Lego games," Burton said. In February 2009, Burton flew to New Zealand to pitch to Jackson and del Toro. Apparently, the demo went fine and feedback was positive. But the powers that be at Warner Bros. decided it wanted a game not based directly on the movie, but happened in the same world at the same time. "I have no idea if internal politics played a role in the decision or not, but in the end the game was never greenlit," Burton said. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor from Monolith Productions ended up coming out in September 2014, and Traveller's Tales went on to make Lego Hobbit and Lego The Lord of the Rings. And as Burton suggests, perhaps Traveller's Tales dodged a bullet, given how bad The Hobbit movies turned out. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 59 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 4 Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 10 Latest Articles Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 59 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 4 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store