February 14^th, 2006 (1:52pm) - Offering the chance to experience the Middle-earth you have never seen ... Electronic Arts officially announced today that the highly anticipated, The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II has gone gold and will be on store shelves in North America on March 2, 2006. The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, is the sequel to the critically acclaimed real-time strategy (RTS) game The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth.

Developed at EA’s Los Angeles (EALA) studio for the PC, The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II includes all new content from J.R.R. Tolkien’s original fiction, and allows the player to delve deeper than ever before and engage in new battles that go beyond the award-winning movie trilogy. The development team at EALA have brought The Lord of the Rings world to life in accordance with an agreement with The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises that grants EA the rights to develop games based on the books, in addition to a separate agreement that allows for games based on the New Line Cinema films.

"The Lord of Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II will introduce players to new heroes, creatures, places and stories from Tolkien’s fiction brought to life in the visual style of the films from New Line Cinema," said Mike Verdu, Executive Producer at EA LA. "The game combines a rich and wonderful world with innovations in real-time strategy game play to deliver the complete Middle-earth experience. This is the Middle-earth you’ve never seen."

In The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, players wage war in the Northern regions of Middle-earth where they can choose to assume command of the most storied civilizations in all of Middle-earth history - the Elven and Dwarven armies - or fight on the side of Evil with heroes and creatures that have never been seen in The Lord of the Rings films. Reprising his role as Lord Elrond, Hugo Weaving lends his voice to the game, helping to set the scene and tone for each mission.

For access to all the behind-the-scenes details of creating a blockbuster The Lord of the Rings PC game, fans will enjoy the first ever Collector’s Edition DVD release from the highly successful The Lord of the Rings franchise with The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II Collector’s Edition. This special, limited edition will ship simultaneously with The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II and will be available at select retailers with a US MSRP of $59.99. The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II will be available at retailers nationwide with a US MSRP of $49.99. Both games are rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB.