Amazon Cancels their Lord of the Rings MMO

Way back in 2018, Amazon/Digital Extremes/Athlon Games/Leyou announced that they — a confused and jumbled web of developers, publishers, and platforms — were going to create a Lord of the Rings MMO. Very few details were put forth on what this MMO would actually look like, and in the 3 years since, people have remained largely uninformed, only occasionally reminded that the game existed whenever Amazon Game Studios canceled another dud project. Like a little reminder for everyone that that “yep, the folks behind Crucible and Breakaway are also working on an MMORPG based off the most beloved fantasy franchise of all time”.

Well, perhaps to no one’s surprise, the inner-company drama didn’t last too long, as it was just announced offhand that Amazon — specifically, Athlon Games, who was contracted to make the game before their owners, Leyou, was bought by Tencent from Digital Extremes — has canceled the project due to conflicts with Tencent. A nameless Amazon Spokesperson phrased it thusly:
 

"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.”

This is a little surprising: historically, Amazon has struggled to play nice with other mega companies, but Tencent has also historically been a very hands-off kind of owner, usually complacent to just let people do what they do and make a lot of money on the side. It could be that a Lord of the Rings MMO was too big a deal to simply let go, however, which must have lead to the two companies bashing heads.

Either way, I’m not convinced it was much of a loss. Amazon’s track records with games have been spotty, and it’s not as if there isn’t already a Lord of the Rings MMO out there you could enjoy playing if you really want it.

Still, it’s bound to make some investors unhappy.