One of the most famous pieces of literature in the world starts with, “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit,” and now, technology has advanced to the point where we can be that hobbit with our own holes in the ground. Private Division and Weta Workshop have released the first official trailer for Tales of the Shire, a cozy, hobbit life sim where players can live out the fantasy of being one of Bilbo’s halfling neighbors.
The premise of Tales of the Shire is extremely simple: make your hobbit hole the picture of comfort. Seems like there will be other activities like cooking for your neighbors, fishing, and exploring the greater world of The Shire — kinda like Stardew Valley meets The Hobbit. The trailer seemed to leak ahead of the official release from Private Division before being taken down. With the official trailer now out, initial sentiment seems to be that the concept is cool but the graphics are a little on the underwhelming side. But hey, so long as your hobbit hole isn’t a nasty, dirty, wet hole filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, I think you’ll be okay.
Tales of the Shire launches in Fall 2024 on console and PC.