Remember the Lord of the Rings game announced by Amazon Game Studios and Leyou a couple of years back? Unfortunately, remembering it is all you'll be able to do now, because Amazon has canceled the project.
Why has Amazon canceled its Lord of the Rings game?
This news comes via Bloomberg's Jason Schreier. According to Schreier, the upcoming game - which was to be an MMO set in the Lord of the Rings universe - was canceled due to a contract dispute between Amazon and Leyou's owner Tencent. Supposedly, after Tencent purchased Leyou, contract negotiations between Tencent and Amazon led to an argument between the two companies, which meant that the game couldn't go ahead. An Amazon spokesperson said that Amazon had been "unable to secure terms to proceed with this title".
This isn't the end for the Amazon staffers working on the unnamed Lord of the Rings project, however. According to Amazon, the staff allocated to the game's development will be moved to other development endeavors, although we don't know exactly what those are yet. Amazon says it's "disappointed" not to be able to bring the Lord of the Rings game to fruition.
What does this mean for Amazon Game Studios?
Amazon Game Studios hasn't been having the best of times lately. In February this year, the company pushed back the release date of its upcoming MMO New World, citing the need for more development time to add extra endgame content. That delay was simply the latest in a string of pushbacks, which leaves New World's fate uncertain. It's now slated to arrive in August this year. In addition, last year, Amazon killed multiplayer shooter Crucible after the game received poor reviews and didn't manage to find an audience. Of course, we also shouldn't forget Breakaway, Amazon's first public outing into the gaming sphere, which was announced in 2016 and canned in 2018 without ever officially releasing.
This doesn't necessarily mean Amazon Game Studios is done for. The company has a publishing deal in the works with Korean RPG developer Smilegate, which could be a much-needed boost for it. That collaboration is slated for this year, but we haven't heard any more details about it since it was announced in August last year. We'll have to wait and see what the future holds for Amazon Game Studios, but this Lord of the Rings game cancellation is a big setback.
Are you sad to see Amazon's Lord of the Rings game go? Let us know in the comments below!
