New Lord of the Rings MMO in the Works at Amazon

Amazon Game Studios is working on a game based on The Lords of the Rings trilogy of novels, the company announced on Wednesday. It's set to be a free-to-play multiplayer game that'll take players to Middle-earth, though further details on the project have not yet been announced. It'll be created through a collaboration between Amazon Game Studios, Leyou Technologies Holdings Limited, and Middle-earth Enterprises. The game is planned for a release on consoles and the PC, though a release date for this currently unnamed game has not yet been announced.

Some may recall that a new game based on The Lord of the Rings was first announced in September 2018 when Athlon Games, a subsidiary of Leyou Technologies Holdings Limited, said it would be working on the project. This newest announcement refers to the same game, according to a press release about the project, with Amazon Game Studios now on board to work on it as well.

"We're committed to bringing customers games of the highest quality, both with our own original IP as well as beloved cultural pillars like The Lord of the Rings," said Christoph Hartmann, VP, Amazon Game Studios. "Tolkien's Middle-earth is one of the richest fictional worlds in history, and it gives our team of experienced MMO developers – from the same studio developing New World – tremendous opportunity to play and create. We have a strong leadership team in place to helm this new project, and we're actively growing our team to help build this incredible experience."

As mentioned by Hartmann in the quote above, the team from Amazon Game Studios that'll be working on the new game is the same that's currently invested in New World, another new project from Amazon. New World casts players into a world filled with swords, shields, guns, and warring nations that's set in the 17th century. It's first alpha phase has currently wrapped as the team moves forward with development.

"Bringing Middle-earth to life necessitates having the very best partners, and Amazon's customer obsession, technology, and talented teams make it the ideal choice for a co-developer and publisher," said Alex Xu, CEO of Leyou Technologies Holdings. "We believe our combined resources and expertise will result in a beautiful and compelling game that customers will love and play for years to come."

The game being co-developed by Amazon Game Studios and Leyou Technologies Holdings does not yet have a release date, so look for more information on that and other details in the future.