Skip to main content

Epic Games Summer Showcase offers new Lord of the Rings title, Ghostbusters, more

Epic Games held its own showcase earlier today as a part of Summer Game Fest 2022. While there weren’t any major announcements to satisfy gamers left wanting by the previous day’s slightly disappointing Summer Game Fest Kickoff event, there were plenty of interesting trailers, including a new Lord of the Rings co-op crafting title reveal, a closer look at the upcoming Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, and new season announcements for fan-favorites Splitgate, Rocket League and Fall Guys.

Check out our breakdown of everything revealed by Epic Games today below and keep an eye on upcoming streams for more gaming news.

Check out our Summer Gaming Marathon hub

The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria

The dwarves are returning to the mines of Moria in a new Lord of the Rings title that takes place during the Fourth Age of Middle-earth.

The Lord of the Rings™: Return to Moria™ - Official Announcement Trailer 4K

“The story of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria takes players beyond the books and into the Fourth Age of Middle-earth, the fantastical world created by J.R.R. Tolkien,” reads the official description. “Summoned to the Misty Mountains by Lord Gimli Lockbearer, players take control of a company of dwarves tasked to reclaim the lost spoils from the Dwarven homeland of Moria—known as Khazad-dûm or Dwarrowdelf—in the depths below their very feet.

“Their quest will require fortitude, delving deep into the Mines of Moria to recover its treasures. Players will join forces to survive, craft, build, and explore the iconic, sprawling mines. Courageous expeditioners will need to be vigilant as mysterious dangers await.”

Billed as a survival crafting game, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria will have a lot of mining and crafting, base-building, and exploration that can be experienced solo or in co-op multiplayer.

At launch, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria will be available exclusively on PC via the Epic Games Store.

Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed

Viewers got a new look at some of the playable ghosts in the upcoming Ghostbusters game.

Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is an asymmetrical multiplayer game where four Ghostbusters try to capture one ghost that’s haunting a specific map. They must track the ghost down before capturing it with customizable versions of tools like the Proton Pack, Particle Thrower, and P.K.E. meter. Four players control Ghostbusters while another controls the ghost causing mayhem.

Ectoplast Showcase - Epic Games Store Summer Showcase

PC Building Simulator 2 open beta

A custom PC in PC Building Simulator 2.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

PC Building Simulator 2 is now in open beta on the Epic Games Store. This sim is essentially Guitar Hero for nerds — and we love it.

The game launches exclusively on the Epic Games Store later this year. You can wish list it now for access to the free open beta.

Shoulders of Giants

Shoulders of Giants is a sci-fi roguelike where players control a sword-wielding robot and a gunslinging space frog trying to save the world. What’s not to like?

Shoulders of Giants - Gameplay Reveal Trailer

Goat Simulator 3

Goat Simulator 3, the second game in the chaotic physics sandbox series, got a second trailer at the Epic Games showcase. We still don’t know a lot about the recently revealed title, but it looks gorgeous.

Goat Simulator 3 Gameplay Trailer | Epic Games Showcase

Gigabash

From developer Passion Republic Games, GigaBash is coming to Epic Games Store, Steam, PS4, & PS5 on August 5, 2022. This 4-player arena brawler pits monsters against titans in a completely destructible environment.

GigaBash - Rawa Official Reveal Trailer

TCHIA

We got a little peek at TCHIA, a physics-driven sandbox title set to launch early next year. A new gameplay trailer highlights the game’s “soul-jumping” mechanic that allows players to become one with nature and take control of any animal or object they can find.

TCHIA - Soul-jumping Mini-Feature

Rawmen

Rawmen is a hilarious-looking, food-centric multiplayer arena shooter. An open beta is launching on July 1.

RAWMEN | Sign Up For EGS Beta on July 1

Splitgate is coming to Epic Games

The next season of Splitgate will be coming to the Epic Games Store sometime in Q3 and will feature new modes, a new battle pass, and remastered maps.

Splitgate Epic Games Store Announce Trailer

Rocket League season 7

A new season of Rocket League will be here on June 15 and the new Rocket Pass will bring “glitz and glamour” to the field.

Rocket League Season 7 Gameplay Trailer

Fall Guys season 1

Fall Guys is going free-to-play on June 21 with the start of the title’s first official season. The new cinematic trailer shows off new cosmetics and arenas.

Fall Guys - Free For All Cinematic Trailer

Everything else

  • Disney Speedstorm got a new trailer featuring a brand new track.

  • Sifu is getting a summer update that includes gameplay modifiers, ranging from faster enemies, unbreakable weapons, a bullet-time slow-motion mode, and even a low gravity option that will allow players to customize the rules for their runs.

  • Epic released new information on the first FNCS Invitational 2022 being hosted on November 12 and 13 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The best Fortnite duos from around the world will be competing for a chunk of a $1 million prize pool.
Sam Hill
Sam Hill is a journalist and the gaming guides editor at Digital Trends. He's also written tech guides for Input and has…
Tales of the Shire is a The Lord of the Rings-themed take on Stardew Valley
A Hobbit gardens in Tales of the Shire.

Private Division revealed a new game set in the Middle-earth universe called Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game. The title, developed by Wētā Workshop Game Studio, is a cozy life simulator set within the world of the books by J.R.R. Tolkien.

In 2022, No Rest for the Wicked publisher Private Division first teased that it was working on a game based on The Lord of the Rings with Wētā Workshop, the visual effects studio whose initial claim to fame was working on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Wētā Workshop has technically had a game studio since 2014, but Tales of the Shire will be its most significant release yet.

Read more
Summer Game Fest will hold its fifth annual showcase this June
The logo for Summer Game Fest 2024.

Summer Game Fest, Geoff Keighley's annual summer event full of new game reveals and trailers will return for its fifth edition on June 7.

Although Summer Game Fest 2024 had already been teased, the Summer Game Fest team laid out more specific details about its 2024 festivities today. The headlining Summer Game Fest kickoff reveal live stream will take place at 2 p.m. PT on June 7. It will be live-streamed across platforms like YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok, and there will also be a live show at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles. Tickets for the live show will go on sale on May 7. Since it's still a few months out, no games have been confirmed for Summer Game Fest 2024 at this time; you can check out what was announced at 2023's show to get a better idea of what kinds of games tend to show up, though.

Read more
Fortnite is getting a Disney universe made by Epic Games
Concept art for Disney's Fortnite experience.

Epic Games is partnering with Disney to create “an all-new games and entertainment universe” that’s compatible with Fortnite.

Announced Wednesday afternoon — at the same time as it was announced that ESPN would be available as a standalone subscription in 2025 —  this partnership follows a $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games by Disney. They companies now plan to work together over several years to create this experience connected to Fortnite, which Disney says will “offer a multitude of opportunities for consumers to play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and more.”

Read more