Three years after the game was originally announced, it sounds like Amazon may officially be done with the Lord of the Rings MMO and preparing to pivot to a different Middle-Earth project instead.
Amazon Remains Excited About The Lord of the Rings IP
After years with minimal updates, there have been plenty of rumors and leaks that suggested the Amazon Lord of the Rings MMO was never going to see the light of day and now that sounds like it may finally be confirmed.
Amazon’s head of games Jeff Grattis responded to questions about the game, its rumored cancellation, and future plans for the IP to Eurogamer in a recent chat.
Grattis’ full statement explained that:
“Our creative team continues to explore a compelling new game experience that does justice to Tolkien’s world; we are working closely with Middle-earth and remain excited about the IP.”
Although this statement doesn’t officially say the MMO is cancelled, that seems to be a big part of what it is implying. It’s a bit strange that Amazon responded at all without actually answering the question directly, but this seems to be the most information that the company is willing to share at the moment.
Amazon had a big round of layoffs in its games division last fall and there have been no updates on the MMO since that shake up. Along with the layoffs, the company also decided to halt a “significant amount of our first-party AAA game development work – specifically around MMOs.”
Despite the MMO seeming to be off the table, it does sound like Amazon is still hoping to develop some kind of Lord of the Rings video game experience. At this point, it’s very unclear what the company has planned and form ‘working closely with Middle-earth’ is going to take in the future.
It will be very interesting to see if any upcoming projects feature the likeness of actors from the movies or the Amazon Prime Rings of Power show or if they feature any original cast of characters. The game’s timeline and setting is also still a major mystery that will be a huge factor in what type of gamers it manages to draw in.
Be sure to check back in the near future for more news and updates on Amazon’s plans for the Lord of the Rings IP and what might be next.
The Lord of the Rings MMO from Amazon is now canceled and there is no official title or release window for the new Lord of the Rings project.
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