Stardew Valley-infused Lord of the Rings life sim Tales of the Shire almost had its hobbits speaking Westron – but while "die-hard Tolkien fans" would've loved it, "there just wasn't enough to go on"

Tales of the Shire.

Tales of the Shire might've featured hobbits who actually speak Westron, Tolkien's canon language for the hairy-footed mortals, but developers didn't think it was viable after consideration.

Weta Workshop's lead writer and lover of all things J.R.R. Tolkien, Darren Ormandy, reveals as much in a recent episode of The Prancing Pony podcast. When asked if there are any "nods to the linguistic roots of the hobbits" and how any potential references were incorporated in the cozy game, Ormandy responds with an admission – devs weren't able to make Westron fit well into Tales of the Shire, ultimately, despite giving it a go.