Amazon has just announced the development of a brand new video game based on the Lord of the Rings license. It will be an MMORPG from the creators of New World. This is the second time that the American company has tried to bring this project to life.
The Lord of the Rings is a juicy license that Amazon intends to exploit in all its forms. After the series The Rings of Power, the American firm announces a partnership with Middle Earth Enterprises (Embracer) for the creation of a new AAA game (synonymous with blockbuster) based on the writings of Tolkien.
It is an MMORPG, a massively multiplayer game like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy 14. It is developed by Amazon Orange County, already behind the title New World, and is currently in the pre-production phase. It won’t come out for several years.
Amazon is developing a Lord of the Rings game
The announcement press release is a little nebulous on what awaits us. Even the official name of the title has not yet been recorded. We just know that we will have the right to “an MMO offering players the pleasure of (re)discovering the stories of The Hobbit and the original Lord of the Rings trilogy”. This wording can be confusing. but this MMO will have nothing to do with the films of Peter Jackson. Amazon does not have the cinematographic rights, these being exploited by the Warner studio. The latter also intends to continue to take advantage of the license with new feature films that will have nothing to do with the game or the series.
Read also – The Lord of the Rings: Warner announces the start of new films
On the other hand, Amazon does own the rights for television exploitation. The press release, however, suggests that the game will not take over the universe of the Rings of Power: “The events of this series are not directly related to the MMO in development at Amazon Games”.
It is not the first time that Amazon announces the creation of an MMO based on the Lord of the Rings. A similar game had once been developed by the Athlon studio, but following its takeover by the giant Tencent, the project had been thrown away. Second chance for Amazon, then.
Note that there is already an MMO taking place in the world created by Tolkien : Lord of the Rings Online, or LOTRO for friends. Released in 2007, it still benefits from a strong community of fans and is still very popular with its developer. However, it can be a bit rough for new players.
