If you’re a Middle-earth fan with a gaming PC, chances are you’re currently counting down the days until The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria‘s release. Indeed, everything about Return to Moria – from its survival crafting gameplay mechanics to its Fourth Age setting – points to it being a cut above many of the Lord of the Rings franchise’s other licensed titles. There’s just one catch: as you may have already noticed, Return to Moria isn’t available for purchase on Steam – so why is that?
Related: The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Is a Co-Op Survival Game Set in the Fourth Age
Why Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Isn’t on Steam
The answer is simple: Return to Moria isn’t on Steam because it’s an Epic Games Store exclusive. As such, anyone who wants to play the game on PC will have to buy it through this platform – at least, for now. While Epic Games is currently hoarding the PC distribution rights to Return to Moria like so much dragon gold, North Beach Games is the game’s actual publisher. This means that Return to Moria could still debut on Steam at some point in the future.
Of course, it’s worth noting that North Beach Games is yet to officially comment on Return to Moria‘s potential Steam release. That said, the publisher previously demonstrated its apparent eagerness to make the game accessible to as many Lord of the Rings devotees as possible when it announced PlayStation 5 (PS5) and Xbox Series X/S versions of Return to Moria in June 2023. Sure, the console versions were subsequently delayed, however, their mere existence suggests that North Beach Games is already thinking bigger than Return to Moria‘s initial PC-only, Epic Games Store-exclusive launch plan.
Related: Is Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Coming to Xbox Series X/S?
When Will Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Arrive on Steam?
So, when will Return to Moria come to Steam, assuming North Beach Games does indeed plan to release the game on that platform? It’s impossible to say for certain, but based on the duration of other games’ timed exclusive windows, you can expect Return to Moria‘s Epic Games Store exclusivity to last for at least six months, if not a whole year. This means that if (and remember, we’re still couching this very much as an “if”) the newest addition to Middle-earth’s multimedia canon is ever going to hit Steam, it won’t be until mid to late 2024 at the earliest.
Can’t wait that long to take up your ax and reclaim the ancient kingdom of Khazad-dûm from its evil Orc occupants? Then you’ll either need to bite the bullet and buy Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria through the Epic Games Store when it comes out on Oct. 24, or invest in a PS5 in time for that version’s release on Dec. 5.
