Tales of the Shire System Requirements Are Hobbit-Friendly—and That’s the Point

You don’t need Sauron’s fortress to run Tales of the Shire. Weta Workshop’s upcoming Hobbit-themed life sim is set to launch later this month, and its PC requirements are looking very accessible. Posted ahead of its July 29 release, the system specs show that you can run this Lord of the Rings game even if you’re not packing the latest gear.

At minimum settings, Tales of the Shire will run at 1080p and 30 FPS on some pretty old hardware. A GeForce GTX 770 or Radeon R9 270X, both released in 2013, are enough to meet the GPU requirement. Even Intel’s newer but entry-level Arc A580 can do the job. As for the processor, a 7th-gen Intel Core i5-7600K or Ryzen 3 1200 will suffice. RAM requirements sit at 16GB, and the game only takes up 3GB of disk space. That’s not a typo—3GB, in 2025.

For those aiming to run the game on High settings at 1080p and 60 FPS, the bar is still modest by modern standards. You’ll need something like a GeForce RTX 3060 Ti or Radeon RX 6750 XT, and a mid-tier CPU like Intel’s i5-10600 or AMD’s Ryzen 5 8400F. The same 16GB RAM applies, and again, just 3GB of free space. That’s smaller than most updates for AAA games today.

Weta hasn’t revealed what you’ll need for higher resolutions like 1440p or 4K. But given the game’s light graphical style, players may be able to push those resolutions without massive hardware bumps. That’s especially good news for anyone playing on modest rigs or Steam Deck-style handhelds.

It’s no surprise that Tales of the Shire is launching with light system demands. This isn’t a high-octane action RPG or massive open-world MMO. It’s a slow, cozy sim set in the bucolic corners of Middle-earth. Instead of sword fights and dark towers, you’ll spend time cooking, decorating, gardening, and chatting with other Hobbits. That tone is reflected in the tech—it’s built for comfort, not for spectacle.

This also fits with the broader vision behind Tales of the Shire. Weta Workshop, best known for its Oscar-winning work on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films, is taking its first real swing at game development. The project was originally set in motion under Private Division, but development slowed after the publisher was sold off. After some delays and uncertainties, the game is finally ready for launch across PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch.

For fans of Middle-earth, this is a noticeable change in direction. While recent titles like The Lord of the Rings: Gollum attempted darker, more narrative-driven takes, Tales of the Shire leans into the quieter life. There’s no ring, no epic war, and no high-stakes hero’s journey. Just Hobbiton vibes, second breakfasts, and slow afternoons by the garden gate.

The approach may seem small-scale, but it could leave a big mark. Tales of the Shire has the potential to unlock a whole new niche for Tolkien games—one that’s not built on combat, but on charm. There’s already a huge appetite for wholesome games that combine building, crafting, and storytelling without pressure. If Weta sticks the landing, this game could become a fixture among fans of titles like Stardew Valley, Spiritfarer, and Animal Crossing.

It also helps that Tales of the Shire launches at a time when many players are burned out by bloated AAA experiences. A relaxing Middle-earth game with low system demands might be exactly what the community needs. That same trend drove interest in recent cozy hits, and it’s not hard to imagine Tales of the Shire riding the same wave, especially among longtime Lord of the Rings fans who’ve wanted to explore the Shire without needing to dodge Nazgûl.

If it gains traction, this could lead to more genre experiments in the Lord of the Rings universe. Maybe a Dwarven crafting sim, or a Gondorian city-builder. With Amazon’s Rings of Power expanding the lore and rights-holders finally branching out from just action games, the door is wide open for something different.

The system requirements alone show that Weta is thinking accessibility first. And that’s a smart bet. Not everyone owns a next-gen console or a 4090. But almost anyone with a halfway decent PC from the last decade can run this game. And that’s likely to help it grow a big audience fast.

Meanwhile, community discussion around Tales of the Shire has already started picking up again, especially following some recent LOTR headlines. After the underwhelming Gollum launch, players have been wary of new entries in the series. But the easy charm of Tales of the Shire, paired with low hardware demands, might just be what brings some of those fans back.

And if that works, it’ll be another win for the cozy game boom—and a reminder that Middle-earth isn’t just a place for war and prophecy. Sometimes it’s just about living well.

You don’t need to save the world. You just need to enjoy it.

The game arrives on July 29. Keep an eye out.