Christian Allen, design director at WB Games Seattle, has revealed that he strongly advised Warner Bros. against releasing The Lord of the Rings: War in the North in November 2011, directly against Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The strategy proved commercially unsuccessful for the Tolkien-based action RPG, which was developed by Snowblind Studios.

Allen, who worked on titles such as Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn, stated in a series of tweets that his warnings were overruled. "I argued vociferously not to release this up against Skyrim, as it wouldn't get a fair shake," Allen wrote, noting the significant hype surrounding Bethesda's title. "I got overruled."

He attributed the decision to "quarterly revenue motivations" common in stock-price driven organizations, suggesting that the pressure for immediate financial returns often outweighs long-term strategic benefits. Allen explained that the impact on Snowblind's game was significant, with reviews frequently comparing it to Skyrim. "At the time it really seemed to get lost in the wash, and every review just compared it to Skyrim (as I predicted they would)," he said.

Allen also noted a lack of marketing and visibility for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. "I think it only got like one review the week it launched," he recalled. "IIRC there was hardly any marketing, either they wrote it off or thought hardcore LOTR fans would just know about it, somehow."

Following the commercial underperformance of War in the North, Snowblind Studios was merged with Monolith Productions. Monolith went on to develop acclaimed titles like Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Middle-earth: Shadow of War. Warner Bros. later closed Monolith Productions in 2023, after the cancellation of its Wonder Woman video game. Allen is now serving as design director for the popular Steam survival game Project Zomboid.

The re-release of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North by Aspyr for PC and consoles recently prompted Allen to share his recollections of the game's initial launch strategy. Skyrim, in contrast, became a monumental success, selling over 65 million copies worldwide.