Amazon Games Is Making A Lord Of The Rings MMO
After dipping its toes into the "Lord of the Rings" lore with an uber-expensive TV show, Amazon is once again returning to J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy universe with gaming plans. Amazon Games is partnering with Embracer Group to develop a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game set in the "Lord of the Rings" world. The upcoming title will be an open-world MMO adventure exploring the Middle-Earth region, complete with characters borrowed from the original "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" portfolio of literary works.
The game comes courtesy of the same team that developed "New World," an MMO role-playing game released in 2021 and which earned a nomination for the best multiplayer game at The Game Awards. But unlike the PC-exclusive "New World," the upcoming game set in the "Lords of the Rings" universe will be making its way to both consoles and PC. The title is currently in the early stages of production, and there is currently no release date attached to it.
This won't be the first AAA game to borrow material from Tolkien's seminal work, though. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has published two games in the "Middle-Earth" series, with the latest one coming out in 2017. EA has also been pushing its own expansive catalog of "Lord of the Rings" games for legacy Xbox and PlayStation consoles since 2022, in addition to the Windows platform and some Nintendo hardware, as well. There's also a generous slate of mobile games out there based on the same source material.
More Tolkien in Amazon's labs
Amazon's game division has been lapping up new IPs and established franchises with great fervor. In 2020, a deal was inked with the Korean publisher and creator of "Crossfire," Smilegate RPG, to publish a new game called "Lost Ark" that came out in 2022. This was followed by the opening of a new games development studio in Montreal and a deal for developing a new gaming IP with Glowmade. Last year, Amazon Games also signed a publishing deal with Disruptive Games, followed by a collaboration with Crystal Dynamics to develop the next "Tomb Raider" game, and another deal with Japanese giant Bandai Namco.
With the upcoming title based on the "Lord of the Rings" material, Amazon Games is hoping to "deliver an experience that is incredibly faithful to the rich fantasy lore established by Tolkien's landmark novels," according to the company. The team says it will be a different experience from "New World," but will rely on the same underlying Azoth game development engine. However, the plan is to significantly upgrade the Azoth engine as development on the upcoming game goes ahead with full steam.
Details on the game's premise and gameplay elements are slim at the moment, but Amazon Games VP Christoph Hartmann says the studio is "determined to build the best possible The Lord of the Rings MMO" that fans will enjoy. Currently, Amazon is busy developing the second season of its "Rings of Power" TV show after spending nearly a billion dollars on its first season.