Back in 2023, Amazon announced it was developing a new Lord of the Rings MMO in collaboration with Embracer Group. This was interesting news, given that The Lord of the Rings Online is still going strong considering its age. But many fans were excited at the prospect of a modern MMORPG set in Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Alas, the project does not appear to be moving forward in its original form. In fact, rumors of the game’s cancellation have cropped up numerous times, leading to a good bit of confusion. So, what’s actually going on here?
This week, another wave of headlines purport that the game has now been officially cancelled, and yet… no official statement to that effect from Amazon Games has arisen. The Lord of the Rings MMO was first rumored to be scrapped back in October 2025, following layoffs at Amazon Games. At that time, a Senior Gameplay Engineer impacted by the layoffs noted that the project was no longer in development. Yet no official statement about the game’s cancellation ever emerged from Amazon Games. Now, we might have some additional insight into why that is.
On May 14th, Eurogamer shared new insight into what’s happening with Amazon’s LOTR MMO. Specifically, the article noted that the game’s cancellation is “now all but confirmed.” This wording is important, as it seems that Amazon head of games Jeff Grattis did not, in fact, directly state that the MMO was cancelled. Instead, it seems that the project has shifted direction significantly, but may still be in the works in some capacity.
As ComicBook previously reported in October, the game has long been presumed dead following mass layoffs at Amazon Games. There is a good bit of evidence to suggest that the MMO was indeed halted at that time, from LinkedIn posts by former team members to the sheer lack of info about the MMO. The game is also no longer listed on the Games section of the Amazon Games website, though the original news post announcing the project remains accessible. Yet Amazon Games appears hesitant to formally announce that the Lord of the Rings MMO has been scrapped, even in Grattis’ recent statements to EuroGamer.
There’s a pretty likely reason for this, however. Though the game will almost certainly not be an MMO as originally planned, Grattis was adamant that Amazon Games is still working on a Lord of the Rings video game. So it seems that rather than being fully cancelled, the project may instead be getting a full rework.
The specific statement from Jeff Grattis does not explicitly say that Amazon Games’ MMO has been cancelled. Instead, Grattis notes that, “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.” This definitely feels like careful word choice that doesn’t rule out the return of the MMO project, but also doesn’t promise that it’s moving forward.
What we do know is that Amazon Games certainly wants to leverage the Lord of the Rings IP if it can. And from the sounds of it, they are still looking to release a game set in Middle-earth at some point, even if it’s not the original MMO concept. Rumors about new Lord of the Rings games have been circulating and could be connected to Amazon’s reluctance to formally state that it has scrapped the MMO.
One rumor suggests that Kingdom Come: Deliverance developer Warhorse Studios is working on a new LOTR RPG. So far, that hasn’t been confirmed, though Warhorse did confirm its next game is “a huge, immersive RPG.” The studio’s ties to Embracer Group would give it access to the LOTR IP for such a project, but for now, its existence remains speculation. The same goes for the rumored Crystal Dynamics project, which has also not been confirmed. Given that studio’s ties to Amazon Games through the Tomb Raider series, it wouldn’t be too surprising if their rumored project happens to be the same one that Grattis is referencing in his latest statements.
For now, what we know is this. Amazon is still working on some kind of game related to The Lord of the Rings, but it is almost certainly not the MMO announced back in 2023. However, from the sounds of it, we should be learning more about at least one confirmed LOTR gaming project this year, whether that’s from Crystal Dynamics, Amazon Games, or Warhorse Studios.
Which rumored Lord of the Rings project do you most want to see come to fruition? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
