Amazon Games has announced its plans to develop and publish a new game set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings world. The agreement with Middle-earth Enterprises, a subdivision of Freemode, will see the creation of an open-world MMO adventure game that features the stories of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Amazon Games Orange County, the developer of New World, will lead the project’s development, and Amazon Games will publish the game globally for PC and consoles.
According to a press release, the game is in the early stages of production, and Amazon Games will announce additional details, including launch timing, at a later date. Lee Guinchard, CEO of Freemode, said that Middle-earth is an endlessly fertile ground for creators, and Amazon Games has a passion for building immersive, compelling worlds and publishing games for a global audience.
However, this is not Amazon Games’ first attempt to produce an MMO in J.R.R. Tolkien’s world. The company cancelled a previous MMO project in April 2021 due to disputes with Tencent, which acquired Leyou, the studio Amazon had an agreement with to develop the game. Although Amazon Games’ previously internally developed MMO, New World, has received a mediocre reception and criticism for its emphasis on colonialism, the studio hopes to learn from its mistakes and create something special for Lord of the Rings fans.
As a cult classic that has been going on for 16 years, The Lord of the Rings Online by Standing Stone Games is a lovingly crafted and faithful recreation of Tolkien’s world that will inevitably draw comparisons to Amazon Games’ upcoming title. However, there’s every possibility that Amazon Games has learned valuable lessons from New World’s failures and is in a position to craft something special. Fans will have to wait for more details to emerge to see if Amazon Games can create a game that lives up to the legacy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s world.
In conclusion, Amazon Games’ announcement of a new MMO based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings world has generated excitement among fans. Although it is still in the early stages of development, the project has the potential to be a major success if Amazon Games can learn from its previous mistakes and create a game that stays true to Tolkien’s world and characters. Fans eagerly await more details about the game’s launch timing and gameplay.
