The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King co-op

Couch co-op for 2 players · online co-op up to 2 · full campaign in co-op

2003 · EA Redwood Shores · 76/100

Co-op at a glance

Split-screen

No — shared screen

Local co-op

2 players

Online co-op

2 players

Full campaign in co-op

Yes

Cross-play

Not documented

LAN

Yes

Platforms

Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Legacy Mobile Device, PlayStation 2

Developer

EA Redwood Shores

Series

The Lord of the Rings

Co-op details come from the IGDB games database. Missing entries mean “not documented”, not necessarily “not available”. Data checked: 2026-09-30

What it is

The video game adaption of the acclaimed film of the same name. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a follow up the well received adaption of the first two films in the trilogy. The game expands on what The Two Towers accomplished, with the action and adventure sequel introducing three separate story lines from the movie: one following Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, as The Two Towers did, another following Gandalf, and a third following Frodo and Sam, with Merry, Pippin, and Faramir serving as unlockable characters. Gameplay features were also expanded upon, including multiplayer.

Adapting the closing chapters of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy, The Return of the King is a hack and slash action game that carries the War of the Ring toward its climax. Picking up from the events of The Two Towers, it follows the desperate struggle of Middle-earth's free peoples against the growing darkness of Sauron. The game unfolds across multiple intertwining storylines, letting players take control of the trilogy's beloved heroes, among them the wizard Gandalf, the ranger Aragorn, the elf Legolas, the dwarf Gimli, and the hobbits Frodo and Sam. Their paths diverge across the great battlefields and shadowed roads of the era: the defense of besieged strongholds, sweeping clashes against the armies of Mordor, and the perilous secret journey to carry the One Ring toward its destruction. Faithful to the films, the game plunges players into the epic final campaigns of the war, wielding blade, bow, and magic against overwhelming hordes.

Frequently asked

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