Back in 2023, Amazon revealed that they were working on an MMO experience set within The Lord of the Rings universe. This always-online interpretation of Middle-earth was set to include both the stories of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, existing as a collaboration between Amazon and Embracer Group on behalf of Middle-earth Enterprises. Now however, it’s confirmed to be no more, as Eurogamer gets word from the commercial giant that they’ve scrapped their MMO project.
This follows massive Amazon-wide layoffs back in October of last year, with their gaming sector being considerably impacted. These job losses were significant within the teams of both Amazon’s existing MMO New World, along with those working on the untitled Lord of the Rings MMO.
It’s a huge undertaking to not only develop, but commit to the ongoing evolution of large-scale online games like those within the MMORPG genre. The significant layoffs to the team last year were the writing on the wall, but now Amazon confirms the project is dead.
Despite the doom and gloom of lost gaming projects, there’s a slight glimmer of hope for those looking for more games within Tolkien’s iconic universe. Amazon Gaming’s leader Jeff Gattis said in response to the cancelation 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.”
The last Lord of the Rings game release was last year’s Tales of the Shire, a cozy-style life simulation game that sees players settling into a Hobbit village that they manage themselves on behalf of their fellow Hobbit inhabitants. Before that, almost a decade ago we had Middle-earth: Shadow of War back in 2017.
We’re long overdue a new game set within Middle-earth, but Amazon might not be our only hope. Rumblings across the industry have been pointing towards Kingdom Come: Deliverance developers Warhorse Studios currently working on a huge Lord of the Rings RPG, which whilst still unconfirmed does have a lot of independent confirmation from reliable insiders.
