'Lord of the Rings' card game release date news: Coming to Steam early 2018

Fantasy Flight Interactive is working on a new "Lord of the Rings" card game that will launch on Steam in early 2018.

According to reports, "The Lord of the Rings Living Card Game" will be a single-player and multiplayer card game based on the 2011 hit "Lord of the Rings: The Card Game."

A living card game means the game will not rely on random packs. Instead, they will use expansion models that consist of known set of cards and can be purchased at a fixed price.

With a Steam release, this means "The Lord of the Rings Living Card Game" would be the first of its kind to be released on PC.

It will also be the first-ever game to be developed by Fantasy Flight Interactive, the newest studio in Asmodee North America. It is led by AAA veteran developer Tim Gerritsen, the former director of Irrational Games and former CEO of Human Head Studios.

In an official statement, Gerritsen said he has always been a "big tabletop fan."

"When I got out of college, I wanted to get into tabletop games," he said. However, that coincided with the time when the whole tabletop industry was reeling, forcing him to find a job at the video game industry instead.

While he has had a fair amount of success in the video game sector, Gerritsen shared that he could not help but go back to his "first love."

According to further reports, the "Living Card Game" is launching on Steam Early Access early next year, with a slated full release five months after.

Interested players need to purchase one of three tiers of Founder's Packs to be able to play the Early Access. The base game should be free-to-play after its full launch. Extra cards can also be purchased with in-game money, which in turn could be earned by playing through the campaign.

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