"Amazon passively confirmed the cancellation of the Lord of the Rings MMO to Eurogamer, which asked for a comment after hearing from studio insiders this year that it was officially shelved. Amazon's gaming lead Jeff Grattis said, "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." That's as close to a "yeah, that big ol' MMO is dead" as it comes, in marketing speak."
"The New World team, Amazon Games Orange County, started publicly working on the Lord of the Rings MMO in 2023. When the layoffs rolled through two years later, Amazon said in a staff memo that it was withdrawing support for big-budget titles and especially MMOs, but the company didn't publicly name names. Around that time, a former senior gameplay engineer apparently posted and then deleted a LinkedIn message alluding to the death of the Lord of the Rings MMO (while breaking our hearts even more): "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).""
"The fate of the Lord of the Rings MMO has been uncertain since October 2025, when Amazon laid off a significant portion of its Games division, shuttered its four-year-old MMO, New World: Aeternum, and cut way back on major game investments. Claims of the cancellation emerged this week as part of a larger Eurogamer investigation into Amazon's generative-AI mandates and subsequent layoffs."
"Amazon still has rights to make video games based on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit under its 2023 deal with Embracer Group, and it's also producing the Rings of Power television show based on JRR Tolkien's works. Amazon recently annou"
Amazon Games cancelled the Lord of the Rings MMO that had been in development. The MMO’s fate became uncertain after major layoffs in October 2025, which included shutting down New World: Aeternum and reducing investment in large-budget projects, especially MMOs. Amazon confirmed the cancellation indirectly, stating that its creative team continues exploring a compelling new game experience that does justice to Tolkien’s world and that it is working closely with Middle-earth while remaining excited about the IP. Development began publicly in 2023 with Amazon Games Orange County. Amazon still holds rights to create video games based on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit under a 2023 deal, and it is producing the Rings of Power television series.
Read at Engadget
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