Chinese gaming developer NetEase and US video game company Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment made a joint play in the mobile gaming market with a tie-up to create a new strategy game based on the fiction trilogy The Lord of the Rings.

The mobile game, The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War, will recreate fictional characters and scenes from the J.R.R. Tolkien books “in a visually stunning and completely faithful rendition”, the companies stated.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s president David Haddad said the move will unlock new possibilities for players to explore the novels’ “iconic settings and characters” and use their strategic skills.

NetEase CEO William Ding expressed confidence the company would impress worldwide fans “with an inspiring new way to enjoy The Lord of the Rings”, as it brought “deep mobile game development experience, world class R&D team” and rising success in the most developed global markets.

The trilogy formed the basis for numerous game titles including The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies, Fight for Middle-earth; and The Lord of the Rings: Legends of Middle-earth.

NetEase reported an 18.3 per cent year-on-year increase in net revenue in Q1 to CNY17.1 billion ($2.4 billion).

Reuters reported in 2019 NetEase set a goal of generating 30 per cent of its revenue from overseas markets within three years.