Yet another LOTR game has gone down the drain, but not all hope is lost.
It seems that creating a successful Lord of the Rings game is no easy feat, even for major publishers such as Amazon.
According to Eurogamer, Amazon representatives have confirmed that the company’s previously unannounced Lord of the Rings MMO has indeed been shelved, making it yet another addition to the growing list of cancelled Lord of the Rings game projects.
However, the company has not abandoned Tolkien’s universe entirely, as it says it remains committed to exploring future projects within the franchise.
“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.”
Why was the Lord of the Rings MMO cancelled?
Amazon did not provide a specific reason behind the unfortunate cancellation of the LOTR MMO, though the situation is not particularly difficult to piece together.
For those who have been following developments closely, the MMO was effectively considered dead following Amazon’s widespread layoffs last October, which affected more than 14,000 employees across multiple divisions, including Amazon Games.
Since then, many had speculated that the project had been cancelled, especially after Amazon executive Steve Boom stated that the company would be scaling back work “specifically around MMOs”.
A former employee also briefly posted–and later deleted–a LinkedIn message mentioning the game’s cancellation.
For many fans awaiting the project, this was enough to all but confirm its fate, and with continued silence surrounding development, the official confirmation comes as little surprise.
What other LOTR projects is Amazon working on?
While Amazon has not revealed any details regarding its future LOTR plans, several reports may hint at the company’s new direction.
Warhorse Studios, the developers behind Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, are reportedly working on an open-world game set in Middle-Earth. The studio is owned by Plaion, a subsidiary of Embracer Group–the same company that was previously involved with the cancelled LOTR MMO.
Meanwhile, another report claims that Crystal Dynamics is also developing its own LOTR title. The studio is notably collaborating with Amazon on the upcoming Tomb Raider games.
That said, it looks like it may still be quite some time before we get to experience a brand-new LOTR IP. Hopefully, it won’t turn out to be another Gollum in the making.
