When is the Tales of the Shire release date? Tales of the Shire is the Lord of the Rings game we never knew we needed. A cute, cozy farming sim like Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing, Tales of the Shire turns you into a Hobbit as you embark on a relaxing, homely life in the idyllic Middle-Earth countryside.
There’s so much more to relaxing game‘s launch, trailers, gameplay, and the most up-to-date news.
Tales of the Shire release date
The Tales of the Shire release date is set for Tuesday, July 29, 2025 on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Netflix.
A four-month delay to the game was announced in an official statement published on X back in February 2025. The statement reads that the team is “taking a little longer to ensure that every Hobbit, on every platform, can enjoy the same cozy experience”.
This isn’t the first delay to the Tales of the Shire release date, as the original date was scheduled for March 2025. The developers revealed this information on Hobbit Day (September 22, 2024) along with more details about the game itself.
Tales of the Shire trailers
In of official trailers, we’ve so far only seen the reveal trailer and the original Tales of the Shire release date trailer. Outside of trailers, there have been plenty of gameplay and development videos, including the longer Hobbit Day broadcast.
The announcement trailer tells us that Tales of the Shire takes place in Bywater, a small location in the central Shire. The Shire is a complex location, one that Tolkien developed in great detail, inspired mostly by real British locations. Bywater is almost perfectly in the middle of the four farthings of The Shire, and is just south of the well-known Hobbiton, home of the Baggins.
Lord of the Rings fans may the Battle of Bywater, the final battle in the events of the War of the Ring. Don’t worry, Tales of the Shire isn’t focused on combat or warfare, with the voice-over at the start of the trailer revealing this isn’t a story of fear, but one of new beginnings. From there, we see images of the Hobbits cooking, farming, fishing, and more.
The gameplay trailer shows us how gardening and farming works. You can take your ingredients into the kitchen to make creamy pumpkin soup and other tasty recipes using onions, pumpkins, and cream, and then serve them to your guests in your dining room. We also see decorating in more detail, including customizing the flooring and lighting, and placing furniture.
Tales of the Shire gameplay
Tales of the Shire contains much of the same mechanics we’re used to from other life games. However, we expect much of this to be more detailed than we’ve perhaps seen in other games, as previews and gameplay footage has so far revealed that the cooking mechanics in particular are incredibly detailed.
A recent gameplay deep dive exposed more of these cooking mechanics, including a glimpse at your pantry – where all your hard-earned ingredients are kept – and details about flavors, ingredient quality ratings, and how pivotal meals are in the game. In true Hobbit fashion, you’ll host lavish dinner parties with more food than you can eat, but you’ll need to listen to your guests likes and dislikes closely to make the best meals – and the best friendships.
Tales of the Shire puts a spotlight on friendships across The Shire, and the initial announcement trailer shows that cooking your friends’ favorite meals is at least one of the ways to their heart.
There also appears to be a considerable focus on customization, as your hobbit home can be fully kitted out the way you see fit. While it seems there’s a lot to Tales of the Shire, it appears to successfully give players the agency to play as they want, be that home building, cooking, farming, or a bit of everything.
We can’t wait for the Tales of the Shire release date and, if you can’t either, then try some of our other favorite cooking games in the meantime.