Amazon has officially confirmed the cancellation of its Lord of the Rings MMO, ending a project that was announced in May 2023 and never made it past the pre-production phase. For Amazon, this is the second time a Lord of the Rings MMO has died in development. The first was announced back in 2019 and quietly canceled two years later.
How It Fell Apart
Amazon struck a deal with Embracer Group’s Middle-earth Enterprises in May 2023 to develop and publish an open-world MMO set in Tolkien’s world. The announcement generated genuine excitement – Amazon had built up a dedicated games studio, and New World had proven the company could ship a large-scale online game. The LOTR project seemed like a natural next step.
But the project was reportedly under-resourced from the start. According to sources cited in the Eurogamer report that prompted Amazon’s confirmation, the MMO had as few as one or two developers attached to it at certain points, running as a side initiative rather than a fully staffed production. Efforts to scale up were made – reportedly more than 1,000 developers from New World were reassigned to the LOTR project – but those efforts were cut short in October 2025 when Amazon carried out sweeping layoffs across its games division, simultaneously shuttering New World: Aeternum after four years of live service.
Pre-production on the MMO had completed shortly before those October layoffs hit, meaning the game was still in the design and planning stage and had not entered active development. It never got there. Amazon confirmed the cancellation to Eurogamer this week.
Amazon Still Wants to Be in Middle-earth
Despite killing the game, Amazon says its relationship with Middle-earth Enterprises is not over. In a statement, the company said it is “working closely with Middle-earth Enterprises on a compelling new game experience” – though no details were given about what form that might take or whether it would be another MMO attempt. Given the company’s recent history with large-scale online games, it seems reasonable to expect something with a smaller footprint than a full MMORPG.
A Pattern That Is Hard to Ignore
The cancellation is the latest in a series of high-profile gaming setbacks for Amazon. The company’s first Lord of the Rings MMO was announced in 2019 with Leyou Technologies and canceled in 2021. Crucible, Amazon’s hero shooter, launched and was immediately pulled back into closed beta before being shut down entirely. New World launched in 2021 to strong numbers but struggled to retain players, and its relaunch as New World: Aeternum ultimately led to the division being cut down significantly.
The studio has had success with the Lost Ark publishing deal in the West, but its track record in building its own titles is a difficult one. What a “compelling new game experience” set in Middle-earth actually looks like under those constraints remains to be seen.
