"The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth will give gamers the first chance to play the epic battles they've witnessed in Peter Jackson's films," said Mark Skaggs, VP and Executive Producer of the game. "Fans will be able to immerse themselves in Middle Earth and experience The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy like never before, including controlling the evil side of the conflict."

The Battle for Middle-earth utilizes the Generals game engine, and in the game players can select from the different "good" or "evil" campaigns, where they will be given the freedom to command a variety of major armies from the films, each with their own distinct strengths and weaknesses. Prepare for war by creating offensive and defensive strategies set in the memorable battle locations taken straight from the big screen. The Battle for Middle-earth RTS game will utilize the digital assets created for the films and will feature exclusive voiceover from the real actors as well as actual movie footage from the three films.

Under an exclusive licensing agreement with New Line Cinema, EA has the rights to create and publish interactive entertainment games based on the movie trilogy. The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth will be the third EA title released under its The Lord of the Rings franchise. The upcoming The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King game based on the final movie will release in November 2003 on multiple platforms.