Lord of the Rings Online looks set to remain the only major Lord of the Rings MMO for the foreseeable future, after the much anticipated MMORPG from Amazon based on that universe has reportedly been scrapped following contract negotiations with Tencent. The developer, Lyou Technologies Holdings Ltd had been working on the game for some time with Amazon, but when Tencent bought the company last year, a new contract needed to be negotiated. It didn't materialize, so now the game has been effectively scrapped.
Amazon's Lord of the Rings developments have been some of the biggest in TV and gaming in recent years, with over a billion dollars reportedly invested in the upcoming TV show and game. They would have been able to capitalize on each other's success, but now the TV show will have to go it alone.
"We have been unable to secure terms to proceed with this title at this time," an Amazon spokesperson told Bloomberg. "We love the Lord of the Rings IP, and are disappointed that we won’t be bringing this game to customers."
This is obviously a heartbreaking time for not only fans of the game, but the staff who had worked so diligently on it. Amazon has confirmed that all developers working on it have been given roles on other projects, but they'll no doubt be saddened that all their hard work won't see the light of day.
This is the latest in a string of failures for Amazon's game division, after it shut down the much hyped and costly development, Crucible, after just six months. Breakaway, Nova, and Intensity are three other projects which didn't see the light of day.
All eyes will now turn to Amazon's New World, a game expected to debut in August, 2021.