Lord Of The Rings Amazon MMO Cancelled
Image: EA

A Lord of the Rings MMO headed by Amazon was expected to release next year, but according to a new report, those plans have been scarpered due to a dispute between the company and Tencent.

Back in 2019, Amazon announced it was working on a new MMO set within The Lord of the Rings universe. It roped in developer Athlon Games, who is a part of the publisher Leyou Technologies. In its never ending quest to purchase gaming companies, Tencent swooped in last December and secured Leyou Technologies, which has caused a dispute between itself and Amazon over the game’s contract.

According to Bloomberg, an Amazon spokesperson confirmed the news that an agreement between the two companies could not be made, which has led to the project being cancelled.

“We have been unable to secure terms to proceed with this title at this time. We love the Lord of the Rings IP, and are disappointed that we won't be bringing this game to customers.“

Bloomberg added that employees working on the game are said to have been moved to assist on other projects. What those are remains to be seen, but Amazon still has numerous video game plans in place, such as an upcoming MMO known as New World.

The company is also taking a stab at cloud gaming with Amazon Luna, which recently saw former Xbox executive Mark Whitten leave his position as Luna’s boss.

Whether Amazon will make a name for itself in the gaming industry remains to be seen. Its projects so far have failed to make any lasting impression, but Amazon is continuing to try. Last year saw the release of Crucible, somewhat of an Overwatch competitor, which was later closed down within just a few months. Hopefully Amazon can make a name for itself in the gaming world, as competition is good. But the constant setbacks aren’t promising.

Are you sad to see Amazon’s plans of a Lord of the Rings MMO cancelled? Let us know in the comments below.

[source bloomberg.com]