Amazon's Lord of the Rings MMO looks doomed as former dev says we "would have loved it" amid thousands of layoffs

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The "fledgling" game was in development

Frodo in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
(Image credit: New Line Cinema)

Just yesterday, Amazon revealed that its four-year-old fantasy MMORPG New World would be coming to an end with no future DLC or updates planned – and now, it seems that its other in-progress Lord of the Rings MMO might've been axed as well.

The news of the Lord of the Rings project's potential cancellation comes amid the thousands of Amazon Games layoffs, as former senior gameplay engineer Ashleigh Amrine seemingly hints at it in a new LinkedIn post. "This morning I was part of the layoffs at Amazon Games, alongside my incredibly talented peers on New World and our fledgling Lord of the Rings game," writes Amrine, notably going on to say, "y'all would have loved it."

While this doesn't outright spell out the end of the Lord of the Rings MMO, its future doesn't sound very bright – if it still has one at all, that is.

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Said to still be in early development last year, with Amazon "still trying to find the hook," the Lord of the Rings MMO was admittedly a bit of an enigma. The company never gave out much information about it, aside from some tidbits on its production status and size – and it certainly sounded like it would've been big. "It's still early," Amazon Games lead Christoph Hartmann stated in 2024. "It's a big IP, it's a big game."

There's no telling what condition the MMO is in right now, or whether any progress on it will go forward. I know I'll be keeping my own fingers crossed, especially as The Lord of the Rings Online enters its 18th year – there's only so much to do in-game, after all.

Anna Koselke
Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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