Riding high on its successes with The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, Turbine announced an extension on the agreement with Tolkien Enterprises that will allow the massively multiplayer online game developer to create more offerings based on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings book franchises (Turbine does not have rights to the film series). The new agreement, extended to 2014, also opens an extension option to 2017.

"We're thrilled with the global success of The Lord of the Rings Online since its launch in 2007," said Jim Crowley, president and CEO of Turbine. "With the recent announcement of what are sure to be two blockbuster films based on The Hobbit and a sequel, we expect the success of the license and our relationship with Tolkien Enterprises to grow for years to come."

While there were no announcements regarding when new games would become available, given that the The Hobbit film is due in 2010, one might expect Turbine to make sure any game based on the book license is available for hyped up moviegoers.