Amazon reportedly cancels its planned Lord of the Rings MMO - but more awaits fans of Middle Earth

Amazon has cancelled its planned Lord of the Rings MMO, according to a new report, but there are still gaming projects in the works that fans of Middle Earth should look forward to.

Of course, there's been no shortage of Lord of the Rings games over the years, varying from the sublime (Return of the King on PS2, Shadow of Mordor on PS3) to the ridiculous (we don't need reminding of the ill-fated Gollum game from a couple of years ago).

And hey, it's worth shouting out here, on the cusp of the new LEGO Batman game coming out, that LEGO Lord of the Rings remains one of the best LEGO games ever made and one of the best LotR games ever made.

Today's news pertains to a massively-multiplayer online Lord of the Rings game (quite an exciting prospect), which was first announced by Amazon back in 2023.

According to a new report from Eurogamer, that LotR MMO project has effectively died a death at Amazon.

It sounds from the report like Amazon's gaming strategy has shifted away from these sorts of big online games, with New World and Lost Ark being sunsetted, and layoffs taking place in October last year.

However, for LotR fans that are hoping to see video games back on the menu, there is some silver lining to this report.

Amazon's head of games, Jeff Grattis, is quoted directly in the piece, and he promises that "a new game experience" tied to JRR Tolkien's iconic world of Middle-earth is still in the works at Amazon

Grattis told Eurogamer, "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."

This chimes with recent rumours that Warhorse Studios, makers of the BAFTA-winning medieval knight game Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, could be working on a Lord of the Rings game next.

Certainly, if you wanted a single-player open-world LotR game that allows players to explore Middle-earth and get into an array of memorable scrapes along the way, it's hard to think of a better-suited studio than Warhorse to deliver that.

At the BAFTA Games Awards last month, we spoke to Tom McKay, who plays the lead character of Henry in the Kingdom Come: Deliverance series, who he would want to play if the LotR rumours are true.

"There are loads," he told us. "You know, those worlds are filled with such incredibly rich complex characters. I mean, definitely a kind of Aragorn vibe would be great.

"But there are so many. And actually, if I were to do it – and I flatter to think that anybody would want me to do it – I'd probably rather nudge it away from the Henry vibes a little bit. I quite like playing a sort of broad palette of characters."

If and when we hear more about the future of LotR games, we'll be sure to let you know. And remember, a game announcement is never late, nor is it early; it arrives precisely when it means to.

Read more:

• The Lord of the Rings prequel confirms huge star will replace Viggo Mortensen as full cast revealed
• Rings of Power season 3 gets major release update after previously being tipped for 2027 release

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