The Lord of the Rings MMO Once Again in Production at Amazon

wccftech.com:

There's once again hope for all those gamers who were disappointed to learn of the cancellation of The Lord of the Rings MMO in production at Amazon Games.

As you might recall, Leyou had originally grabbed the deal and subsequently selected Amazon Games to develop the title. However, following Tencent's acquisition of Leyou, Tencent and Amazon couldn't reach an agreement to keep working on the project.

Today's surprising news reveals that Amazon has successfully struck a deal with the new owner of the rights, the Embracer Group, and The Lord of the Rings MMO is once again in production at Amazon Games to be released on PC and consoles.

According to the press release, the game is currently in the early stage of production at the Orange County office, which previously released the MMORPG New World. Not much was shared about the game's specifics, other than it being an open world MMO adventure set in a persistent Middle-earth featuring the beloved stories narrated by J.R.R. Tolkien in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Christoph Hartmann, VP at Amazon Games, stated:

We’re committed to bringing players high-quality games, whether through original IPs or long-beloved ones like The Lord of the Rings. Bringing players a fresh take on The Lord of the Rings has long been an aspiration for our team, and we’re honored and grateful that Middle-earth Enterprises is entrusting us with this iconic world. We’re also pleased to be expanding our relationship with Embracer Group following our Tomb Raider deal last year, as they’ve proven to be excellent collaborators.

Lee Guinchard, CEO of Freemode, added:

The world of Middle-earth continues to prove an endlessly fertile ground for creators, and Amazon Games has a passion for building