Amazon confirms Lord of the Rings MMO is canceled

Amazon ↗2.90% Games head Jeff Grattis confirmed the Lord of the Rings MMO has been canceled after two failed attempts dating back to 2019.opencritic
The cancellation follows sweeping layoffs in October 2025 that gutted Amazon’s first-party AAA game development, particularly its MMO efforts.videogameschronicle
Grattis said the team is exploring a new, non-MMO game in Tolkien’s world, while Embracer Group studios also develop competing titles.yahoo

Amazon Confirms Lord of the Rings MMO Is Cancelled, Teases New Middle-earth Game

Amazon Games has officially confirmed the cancellation of its long-troubled Lord of the Rings massively multiplayer online game, while leaving the door open for a different kind of experience set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s universe.

Jeff Grattis, head of Amazon Games, confirmed the news to Eurogamer on May 14, stating: “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.”yahoo

A Troubled History

The confirmation puts an end to years of false starts. Amazon first announced a Lord of the Rings MMO in 2019, only to cancel it in 2021 amid contract disputes with Tencent after the Chinese conglomerate acquired co-developer Leyou. The project was revived in 2023 as an internal effort led by Amazon Games Orange County, the studio behind New World.lotroplayers

That second attempt entered pre-production before sweeping layoffs struck Amazon’s gaming division in late October 2025. Steve Boom, Amazon’s vice president of Audio, Twitch, and Games, told staff in an internal memo that the company had “made the difficult decision to halt a significant amount of our first-party AAA game development work — specifically around MMOs — within Amazon Game Studios, including making significant role reductions in our studios in Irvine and San Diego, as well as our central publishing team,” as first reported by Bloomberg and confirmed by multiple outlets.theverge

Former senior gameplay engineer Ashleigh Amrine publicly disclosed the project’s fate at the time, writing on social media: “This morning I was part of the layoffs at Amazon Games, alongside my incredibly talented peers on New World and our fledgling Lord of the Rings game (y’all would have loved it).”gamingbible

Broader Retreat from MMOs

The Lord of the Rings MMO’s demise is part of a wider strategic shift at Amazon Games away from large-scale multiplayer development. New World, once the studio’s flagship title, entered maintenance mode following the October 2025 layoffs and is expected to shut down in 2026. Amazon said it would continue updating published titles Throne of Liberty and Lost Ark, while also supporting externally developed projects including Crystal Dynamics’ next Tomb Raider game.tweaktown

Middle-earth Without Amazon?

Though Grattis’s statement hints at a potential non-MMO project, fans of Tolkien-based games may not have to wait solely on Amazon. Embracer Group, which acquired the gaming rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit in 2022, has indicated that multiple titles based on the franchise are in development at studios it owns, including Warhorse and Crystal Dynamics.yahoo