Amazon’s planned Lord of the Rings MMO has been cancelled, although the company is not walking away from Middle-earth altogether.
Amazon head of games Jeff Grattis told Eurogamer that the company is still exploring some kind of Tolkien-related game idea after the MMO effectively disappeared following last year’s layoffs.
"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."
The wording leaves the next project unclear. It confirms continued interest in The Lord of the Rings, but it does not say Amazon is reviving the MMO plan, shifting the same project into a new genre or backing a separate Middle-earth game through another studio.
The MMO had been quiet since Amazon’s cuts
Amazon and Embracer Group’s Middle-earth Enterprises announced the game in 2023 as a new massively multiplayer online adventure based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s world. At the time, Amazon said its Orange County studio, the team behind New World, was leading development and that the game was planned for PC and consoles.
No release window was announced. The project was described as being in the early stages of production, with future details due later.
That later reveal never came. According to Eurogamer’s report, the game moved into pre-production only months before Amazon’s 2025 layoffs. The outlet cites a source familiar with the studio who said more than 1,000 developers had started moving from New World onto the Lord of the Rings team before the wider cuts hit.
The cancellation also fits the direction Amazon Games has taken around MMOs. New World: Aeternum is already winding down, with GamesIndustry.biz reporting that the game will go offline on January 31, 2027 after being delisted in January.
Middle-earth gaming is still crowded with rumours
Amazon’s statement arrives while Lord of the Rings game rumours are circling elsewhere. Warhorse Studios recently dodged questions about a rumoured Middle-earth RPG, while other reports have linked Crystal Dynamics to its own Lord of the Rings project.
None of those reports currently explains what Amazon’s new “game experience” is. The confirmed part is narrower: the MMO Amazon announced in 2023 is cancelled, and the company is keeping some kind of Middle-earth game work alive.
That still leaves a big gap for players who were waiting for a modern, big-budget Lord of the Rings MMO. Amazon’s original pitch paired the Tolkien licence with the studio that made New World. The latest statement keeps the IP in play, but the old promise of a persistent online Middle-earth adventure appears to be gone.