Amazon Games and Embracer Group’s Middle-earth Enterprises Strike Deal for New 'The Lord of the Rings' Game

Authored by amazongames.com and submitted by Lazy-Enthusiast16

Amazon Games and Embracer Group, through its wholly owned subsidiary Middle-earth Enterprises, part of the operative group Freemode, today announced they have reached an agreement for Amazon Games to develop and publish a new massively multiplayer online (MMO) game based on The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The upcoming game will be an open-world MMO adventure in a persistent world set in Middle-earth, featuring the beloved stories of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings literary trilogy. The game is in early stages of production, with Amazon Games Orange County—makers of the popular open-world MMO game New World—leading development. Amazon Games will publish the game globally for PC and consoles. Additional details, including launch timing, will be shared at a later date.

“We’re committed to bringing players high-quality games, whether through original IPs or long-beloved ones like The Lord of the Rings,” said Christoph Hartmann, VP, Amazon Games.

“Bringing players a fresh take on The Lord of the Rings has long been an aspiration for our team, and we’re honored and grateful that Middle-earth Enterprises is entrusting us with this iconic world. We’re also pleased to be expanding our relationship with Embracer Group following our Tomb Raider deal last year, as they’ve proven to be excellent collaborators.”

“The world of Middle-earth continues to prove an endlessly fertile ground for creators, and Amazon Games has a passion for building immersive, compelling worlds and publishing games for a global audience”, said Lee Guinchard, CEO of Freemode.

“We have the clear ambition to create the highest-quality entertainment products for this IP, whether we utilize internal resources or team up with the best industry partners that complement our capabilities. We’re taking every care to deliver an MMO which will do justice to the expansive Middle-earth universe and delight players around the world.”

The as-yet-untitled The Lord of the Rings game continues Amazon Games’ growing momentum in game publishing and development, following the success of its internally developed MMO New World and action RPG Lost Ark from Smilegate RPG, both of which have toppedSteam and Twitch charts and continue to nurture strong player communities. Amazon has also announced publishing agreements with NCSOFT for Throne and Liberty, Bandai Namco Online for Blue Protocol, Crystal Dynamics for the next major Tomb Raider game, and Glowmade and Disruptive Games for unannounced titles.

Separately, Amazon Studios produces the hit series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power for Prime Video, which takes place during Tolkien’s Second Age of Middle-earth and is unrelated to this upcoming MMO game in development with Amazon Games.

Hellfire77 on May 15th, 2023 at 19:15 UTC »

Not sure how well this will do. Are they expecting this to ride the tail of Rings of Power? Not sure why Amazon is so focused with MMOs especially with New World seemingly to do well on release but I don’t know anyone who has touched New World the past year that started on it. Just give us a remaster or remake of The Two Towers or RotK.

Edit: Is it just me or does no one know a LOTR MMORPG already exists? Yeah it really made an impression…

REALtacojones on May 15th, 2023 at 18:59 UTC »

Isnt there already a mmo LOTR?

Shock019 on May 15th, 2023 at 17:17 UTC »

So considering this is amazon games, what do you think the odds are of this ever coming out? 10%?