Amazon Cancels Lord of The Rings MMO, New LOTR Game Planned

In a new report from Eurogamer, Amazon Head of Games Jeff Grattis suggested that, despite rumors claiming the previously in-development Lord of the Rings MMO is no longer in the works being true, a new game from the franchise is still in development. In response to a question about whether the MMO had been canceled, Grattis responded by saying, “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.”

Amazon Games announced the MMO back in 2023. The game would have been developed by New World studio Amazon Games Orange County and launched for consoles and PC worldwide. It was reportedly in early production and would have featured stories from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The first news of its cancellation came from a since-deleted LinkedIn post by former Senior Gameplay Engineer at Amazon Games Ashleigh Amrine. “This morning I was part of the layoffs at Amazon Games, alongside my incredibly talented peers on New World and our fledgling Lord of the Rings game (y’all would have loved it),” wrote Amrine. The cancellation does not come as a surprise, considering New World’s end of service and the mass layoffs at the company.