Today Amazon and Embracer announced a deal for the development of a new game based on The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The game will be an "open-world MMO adventure in a persistent world set in Middle-earth" and it will feature "stories of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings literary trilogy."
Development is still in the early stage spearheaded by Amazon Games Orange County, the studio behind New World. The game will come to PC and consoles, but further details are unknown, at the moment.
The announcement includes a statement from Amazon Games VP Christoph Hartmann.
We’re committed to bringing players high-quality games, whether through original IPs or long-beloved ones like The Lord of the Rings. Bringing players a fresh take on The Lord of the Rings has long been an aspiration for our team, and we’re honored and grateful that Middle-earth Enterprises is entrusting us with this iconic world. We’re also pleased to be expanding our relationship with Embracer Group following our Tomb Raider deal last year, as they’ve proven to be excellent collaborators.
We also hear from Freemode CEO Lee Guinchard
The world of Middle-earth continues to prove an endlessly fertile ground for creators, and Amazon Games has a passion for building immersive, compelling worlds and publishing games for a global audience. We have the clear ambition to create the highest-quality entertainment products for this IP, whether we utilize internal resources or team up with the best industry partners that complement our capabilities. We’re taking every care to deliver an MMO which will do justice to the expansive Middle-earth universe and delight players around the world.
This adds another MMO to Amazon Games' portfolio following New World itself and the localization of Lost Ark by Smilegate. The company is also scheduled to publish the western version of Bandai Namco's Blue Protocol later this year.
