Amazon has been trying to establish itself in the gaming scene for some time. A new MMO based on The Lord of the Rings is on the list. New information about the beta and release has now emerged, which we want to share with you.
Update from April 17, 2021: The Lord of the Rings MMO has allegedly been canceled, according to an insider.
What kind of MMO is this? We reported on the new “Lord of the Rings” MMO back in July 2019 on MeinMMO. The game was originally developed solely by the Chinese company Leyou Technologies. However, Amazon eventually joined in.
With the new MMO in the Lord of the Rings universe, we can expect a Free2Play MMO, typical for the Chinese market. And it’s not just for the PC, but also for consoles.
If we take a look at the story, we find ourselves chronologically before the famous films and books. This way, any potential conflicts with the existing MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online are avoided.
The MMO is being developed, at least from Amazon’s side, by the same studio that is currently working on New World. Now, documents have been released that provide more information about the new “Lord of the Rings” MMO.
The release sooner than expected
What data is confirmed for the MMO? It seems that the “Lord of the Rings” MMO is already further along than we thought. The first concepts for the races and classes are said to have been finalized since June 2020. So maybe we will see more about the MMO soon.
Furthermore, the complete lore and story are to be finalized on January 11, 2021, and a first playable prototype is to be ready by June 1, 2021. The “Lord of the Rings” MMO plans to proceed as follows:
- Closed beta for PC starting September 30, 2022
- Open beta for PC starting January 1, 2023
- Launch for consoles also in 2023, within the first 12 months after the start of the open beta for PC
After Amazon had a rather difficult start with its games, the new information could bring hope to fans of The Lord of the Rings. Since there hadn’t been any movement on job postings for the new MMO for a while, we at MeinMMO were concerned that the next Amazon game could be canceled.
Where does the information come from? On Leyou’s homepage (via leyoutech.com), some documents have been published for inspection. Included is an agreement for collaboration between Leyou and Amazon as well as for the joint development of the game (via leyoutech.com).
Additionally, a license agreement (via leyoutech.com) secures the rights for the developers to work with the Tolkien material. The TV show that Amazon is planning for The Lord of the Rings is also mentioned.
Besides some changes made to the license through deletions, the aforementioned timeline is particularly interesting.
So far, the documents only mention PC, Xbox One, and PS4. However, these are somewhat dated, so a release for the next-gen consoles Xbox Series X and S as well as PS5 is quite possible.
Although Amazon has not yet officially announced the MMO, the documents speak for themselves and make us hope for an upcoming press release.
