EA Games have left a license deal, which gives them the rights to Lord of the Rings, to expire, meaning that the rights now go back to Warner Bros, and that EA will be publishing no more Lord of the Rings games.
The agreement was meant to end in 2007, but was extended until the first couple of weeks of January 2008 in order to allow developer Pandemic to quickly finish Lord of the Rings: Conquest. But now the license agreement has expired, there will be no more Lord of the Rings games from EA.
According to an article by the Variety (pointed out by Eurogamer), its quiet likely that Warner Bros will be producing the next Lord of the Rings game. "Based on logic and what some sources have told me, expect Warner Bros. to start producing "Lord of the Rings" games itself soon (whether they"re based solely on its films, or also stuff from the books, will depend whether it makes a deal with Tolkien Enterprises)," wrote a reporter from the Variety.
The license for Harry Potter, however, is still owned by EA Games, and will remain so until the game for the last film – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – is brought out.