Amazon Takes Another Stab At A ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Massively Multiplayer Game

Lord of the Rings fans, behold, Amazon is delving deeper into the franchise once more and is trying its hand (again) at creating a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game.
 
Amazon and its Amazon Games Orange County studio have just reached a deal with Embracer Group, which holds the rights for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
 
If you’re wondering if the tech giant is up for such a task, it currently has the new The Rings of Power series under its belt and is behind New World, an MMO set during the 17th century. That said, the upcoming game is in early production as it is set to take on a different storyline from the Prime Video series, which acts as a sort of prequel set during the Second Age of Middle-earth.
 
Instead, the new game will follow J.R.R. Tolkien’s much-loved tales of the original Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, which takes place during the Third Age. Though, it’s yet to be announced if we’ll be following Frodo and the Fellowship on their journey to save Middle-earth or if it will be based on a different plot set at the same time.
 
This will be the company’s second try at developing a Lord of the Rings MMO after its first attempt failed in 2021 due to a disagreement between Amazon and Chinese game giant Tencent.
 
The news follows Amazon’s recent restructuring of its gaming division. According to TechCrunch, the firm laid off 100 employees across its video gaming sector. In another agreement with Embracer, it acquired the rights to Tomb Raider for a new game based on the Lara Croft franchise.
 
 

[via TechCrunch and Engadget, screenshot via Warner Bros. Entertainment]