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Amazon Cancels "Lord of The Rings" MMORPG

The beleaguered games developer cancels another title.

By Saelanna Sat 01 May, 2021 1:53 PM
Amazon Game Studios’ hotly anticipated “Lord of The Rings” MMORPG has been cancelled following failed contract negotiations. The game was first announced as being in development two years ago and was expected to be a free-to-play adventure set in Middle Earth. Other than the assurance that the game was based on the books and not the films, details about how the game would fit in the Tolkien-verse were virtually non-existent. All gamers knew was the game was coming to PC and consoles, and it was a F2P microtransaction-funded title.

“We have been unable to secure terms to proceed with this title at this time,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement regarding the game’s cancellation.

The game was originally a joint venture between Amazon Game Studios and Chinese holding company Leyou. The contract disputes began in December 2020 when the China-based conglomerate, Tencent Holdings, acquired Leyou adding to their portfolio which already included the video game developers Riot Games and Funcom.

Amazon's statement went on to say, “We love the Lord of The Rings IP, and are disappointed that we won’t be bringing this game to customers.”

It looks like the development team will be moved on to other things but the “Lord of The Rings” game adaptation follows a long line of cancelled Amazon video games. In fact, Amazon Game Studios, which was founded in 2014, has yet to release a game. As it stands, the 17th-century style fantasy MMO “New World” is set to be the developer’s first release when it arrives on its pandemic-delayed [currently] scheduled release date of 31st August 2021. The closed beta for “New World” is due to launch on 20th July 2021.

Amazon is also currently producing a multi-million-dollar TV adaptation of “Lord of The Rings” for their streaming service, Amazon Prime, the first season of which is scheduled to be released sometime in 2021. This has never been connected to the development of the MMO and is not expected to be affected by the game’s cancellation.


Let us know what you think in the comments.


WRITTEN BY Saelanna - mary.harvey@ufplanets.com
EDITED BY Saelanna
IMAGES SOURCED FROM The Tolkien Estate
8 Comments
Sat 01 May, 2021 2:30 PM
Seen this announcement last week sad day for the game but the cost of the series they producing was probably the major factor in this
Sat 01 May, 2021 6:22 PM
I'd forgotten they were even working on it, as so little information was available! Still sad to see.
Sat 01 May, 2021 11:32 PM
When I first heard this studio announced years ago, I really expected some Skyrim/Cyberpunk level games.
Sun 02 May, 2021 3:20 AM
When i heard of the studio first i had mixed feelings. On the one hand, it was an exciting thought to have one of the richest companies in the world get into games development, as the budget for any game they'd make would be virtually limitless. On the other hand, knowing the darker side of Amazon's business ethics. the way they allegedly treat their employees tempered that excitement. Learning the Lord of the Rings MMO would be a micro transaction-based was a dissapointment as it told me Amazon would go the way of the Activision, EA and the likes, milking the player base for every dime they possibly could. Making a good game would be low on their priority list, being money leeches first.
That the mmo is now cancelled because they couldn't get the contract they wanted is sad in a way, but gives me hope that someone they were nagotiating with stood their ground and refused to give in to the big money carrot on a stick held before them..... If that's the case we'll know if and when a lord of the rings mmo ever gets made.
Sun 02 May, 2021 8:05 AM
If that's the case we'll know if and when a lord of the rings mmo ever gets made.
Lord of The Rings Online is celebrating its 14th anniversary, so there's already been one for quite a while. It's getting remastered later this year / early next year to bring it up to date.
Sun 02 May, 2021 9:25 PM
Lord of The Rings Online is celebrating its 14th anniversary, so there's already been one for quite a while. It's getting remastered later this year / early next year to bring it up to date.
Now that you mention it, i remember. That is probably a part of the failed negotiations then. Amazon would not want to have a competitor mmorpg. (just guessing here)
Sun 02 May, 2021 11:55 PM
Honestly I'm not surprised by this, from what I've read, Amazon Game studios is as much a Dumpster fire as Stadia.
Tue 04 May, 2021 4:06 PM
The problem wasn't actually about the old MMO surprisingly. The new MMO was supposed to take place many years (centuries even) after the events of Lord of the Rings. The problem is that Amazon had a studio working on it that wasn't owned by them and that studio that got snapped up by Tencent. Discussions between Amazon and Tencent broke down and well, no game after that.