Amazon Games Announces a New LOTR MMORPG

Amazon Games and Embracer Group in conjunction with Middle-Earth Enterprises have announced that gamers can expect a shiny new MMO from them based in Tolkien's world of Middle-earth.

Wait, stop, I can hear you saying. Lord of the Rings already has an MMORPG! Yes, you are quite correct, however, LOTR Online by Standing Stone Games and Turbine is 16 years old — and looks it. This new game simply titled “The Lord of the Rings” is meant for an audience with modern expectations from an MMO.

Amazon Games Orange County who brought us New World are leading development on the project. Very little is currently known about the game, but it has been confirmed it will launch on PC and consoles (which ones we don’t know yet). Presently, things are in the very early stage of development, however, we did get this brief snippet regarding the game's timeline and story from Amazon Games.

“The upcoming game will be an open-world MMO adventure in a persistent world set in Middle-earth, featuring the beloved stories of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings literary trilogy.”

This would imply the game will take place sometime near or before 2941 of the third age (when the events of The Hobbit takes place). My eye has really caught onto the words “persistent world” in the released statement. I wonder if they will actually be successful in creating a world that grows overtime as players work through the stories from the books.

While fans often debate and argue over such things — *cough* The Rings of Power *cough* — I am hopeful that we will receive something worthy of the history and world Tolkien created. Time will tell if this project is something to be excited for.