LOTR Mod Listing For Rise of Mordor DMCA'd And Rebranding

Rise of Mordor, a non-commercial mod for Total War: Attila, is going through a rebranding after being removed from ModDB due to a DMCA by Warner Bros.


Published: February 11, 2022 9:26 AM /

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Carfaroth, one of Pinnath Gelins strongholds as it appears in the Rise of Mordor mod.

Rise of Mordor, a mod for Total War: Attila that would let players fight in Middle-Earth, is going through a rebrand. The team has decided to rebrand their mod after Warner Bros. sent a Rise of Mordor DMCA to ModDB to get the mod taken down.

Currently, in development, the Rise of Mordor mod plans to create a wide variety of custom assets to give players a Middle-Earth-flavored Total War experience. However, the mod's development has hit a bit of a snag. On February 4th, Discord moderator elijy announced that ModDB told the team that Warner Bros. sent them a DMCA request to remove the mod from their database. Given that WB holds the rights to making games based on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, the team believes this is a copyright infringement case. However, the team's project is a mod and non-commercial. Elijy said that all the team can do is comply and try to talk with the IP team at WB. This doesn't mean that the mod is dead or completely taken down, however. Players can still download the mod on Nexus Mods. A few days after the initial takedown, the team has decided to turn to the fans for assistance.

Concept art for the Isengard Half Orc from the Rise of Mordor mod.

As explained by moderator Fingus McNippleson, the team has decided the best way to avoid future legal issues from Warner Bros. is to rebrand the Rise of Mordor mod, complete with a name change. To do this, they asked the fans to provide alternative names for the project. As of yesterday, when suggestions closed, the team has gotten over 200 new name ideas.

The next step is to choose a pool of names out of the suggestions that fans will vote for. Elijy points out that "we do not cherish the thought of changing what has effectively become a "mark". Rise of Mordor has signified quality, love of Tolkien's world and hope for a bright future in Total War modding ever since its creation." However, rebranding is one of the few options the team has to ensure their work can continue. Rebranding projects to avoid legal issues isn't unheard of when it comes to fan projects and mods, so there's certainly precedent for the team's move.

The base game, Total War: Attila, is available on Steam.

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I am a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University with a major in writing and a minor in gaming. I have a passion for video games and writing. I also… More about Brian