Amazon sets its sights on Lord of the Rings for new MMO project
Amazon Games has announced a new agreement with Middle-earth Enterprises, a subdivision of Freemode, to develop and publish a brand new game set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendaryLord of the Rings setting. Despite this announcement being pretty fresh, we know that this next venture into Middle-earth will be an MMO.
The CEO of Freemode (a subdivision of Embracer Group), Lee Guinchard, said, «the world of Middle-earth continues to prove an endlessly fertile ground for creators, and Amazon Games has a passion for building immersive, compelling worlds and publishing games for a global audience.”
In a press release describing the project, Amazon Games announced that the title would be “an open-world MMO adventure in a persistent world set in Middle-earth, featuring the beloved stories of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings literary trilogy. The game is in the early stages of production, with Amazon Games Orange County—makers of the popular open-world MMO game New World—leading development. Amazon Games will publish the game globally for PC and consoles. Additional details, including launch timing, will be shared at a later date.”
This is not Amazon’s first attempt to produce an MMO in J.R.R. Tolkien’s timeless setting. The studio actually canceled a previous MMO project in April 2021 due to disputes with Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate Tencent (via NME(opens in new tab)). Amazon originally had an agreement with Hong Kong-based company Leyou to develop the title, however, once Tencent acquired Leyou, Amazon Games opted to turn its back on the project.
As a fan ofThe Lord of The Rings, I will confess that this news makes me a little nervous. Though very ambitious, Amazon Games’ previously internally
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