TheLord of the RingsMMO announced in 2019 has officially been canceled, Amazon confirmed today. Little had been shared regarding the MMO since its announcement, given it was in the early stages of development. Regardless, anticipation was high due to theLord of the Rings' popularity and the success ofThe Lord of the Rings Online. Regardless, Amazon has now moved on from the project, citing contract issues with development partner Leyou Technologies.
Amazon’sLord of the Ringsgame was announced as a collaboration between Amazon Game Studios and Leyou, which is based in Hong Kong. Things changed when Leyou wasacquired by Tencent for $1.5 billionin December 2020. An Amazon spokesperson has since confirmed to Bloomberg that the company was “unable to secure terms to proceed” following Tencent acquiring Leyou, so theLord of the RingsMMO was subsequently canceled.
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The Amazon representative also said the company lovesLord of the Rings,and that it is disappointed it won’t be able to bring the game to customers. There are no apparent efforts tocontinue the development of theLord of the RingsMMO. Further, it is being reported that developers on the project will be moved to other teams within Amazon, implying that cancelation is recent and Amazon is only transitioning beyond the project now.
Details about the cancelation of theLord of the RingsMMO were first shared by Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier. Schreier sourced the initial report to anonymous sources familiar with theLord of the Ringsproject, but was later able to officially confirm the information with Amazon’s representatives. No further detail was provided regarding the contract dispute orwhy Amazon chose to cancel the gamerather than take on more of the development burden itself.
Amazon has had a challenging time building up its gaming division since the start of Amazon Game Studios eight years ago. ThisLord of the Ringscancellation is the fifth project put to rest, withNova,Intensity,Breakaway, andmost recentlyCruciblepreceding it. The only title it has released on major platforms remainsThe Grand Tour Gamein 2019.
Amazon does have one project that should be completing development soon.New World, an MMO from Amazon’s Orange County studio, is tentatively planned for release in August. Despite several delays, Amazon appears to be focused on lettingNew Worldcomplete development. As for what will come after that given itsLord of the RingsMMO is no longer on the way, only Amazon knows. However, the recentopening of a new “AAA studio” shows it has no plans to slow down yet.
