NetEase has soft-launched its upcoming strategy title The Lord of The Rings: Rise to War.

As revealed via the game's official Facebook page, the new mobile game based off the fantasy world of J.R.R. Tolkien has entered its "first regional beta test" in Australia and the Phillippines with only a limited number of places available.

Starting from July 15th, the testing is expected to last for three weeks with the suggestion that further tests will be conducted in future. Numerous gameplay videos have begun to materialise via YouTube since the beta's launch.

"Choose a side"

"It is time to choose a side, raise an army, and write your story into the history of Middle-earth!" wrote the official LOTR: Rise to War Facebook page in a post.

Set in the Third Age of Middle-Earth, The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War with feature iconic characters and locations from the original Peter Jackson film trilogy.

The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War is available to download in Australia and the Philippines on Android for three weeks.

PocketGamer.biz has reached to NetEase for more details.

The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War came into existence after it was revealed that Warner Bros. had formed a strategic partnership with the Chinses tech giant to work on the popular IP last month. 

Alongside Rise to War, our soft launch list features over 50 top games from Crash Bandicoot to Angry Birds Legends to Tom Clancy's Elite Squad.