It’s not exactly breaking news that Amazon Studios is currently adapting J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings into a TV series which will air on its Prime Video service. However, it also looks like the trillion-dollar company is looking to expand this franchise to video games as well, as it was recently announced that there will be an upcoming MMO based around The Lord of the Rings.
Details are sparse at the moment, but it looks like Amazon Game Studios, which is the company’s in-house game development team, will be collaborating with Leyou Technologies Holdings Limited and Middle-earth Enterprises to developer and publish a free-to-play MMO set in The Lord of the Rings universe. The MMO is planned for release on both consoles and PCs, but as of this moment has no title and release date yet.
Amazon Game Studios did provide a press release for the game, which sets the title in Middle-earth as portrayed in the literary trilogy. This means that we could be seeing it adapted differently to what we know from the films, as Peter Jackson’s adaptation diverged quite a bit from the novels. Interestingly enough, the need for co-development with Leyou Technologies Holdings Limited stems from the game’s eventual publishing in China, which will be handled by this developer. Leyou is also well-known around the world for its expertise in designing free-to-play games and operating live-service titles, both of which are needed for this game to work.
“We’re committed to bringing customers games of the highest quality, both with our own original IP as well as beloved cultural pillars like The Lord of the Rings,” Christoph Hartmann, VP at Amazon Game Studios, said in a press statement. “Tolkien’s Middle-earth is one of the richest fictional worlds in history, and it gives our team of experienced MMO developers–from the same studio developing New World –tremendous opportunity to play and create. We have a strong leadership team in place to helm this new project, and we’re actively growing our team to help build this incredible experience.”
There’s a severe drought in games based around The Lord of the Rings, so this development should be a welcome surprise to anyone looking for new MMOs to play.
