A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) based on The Lord of the Rings, which had been in development since early 2023, has reportedly been cancelled. While several Lord of the Rings games have been released over the years and are popular with gamers, the last MMORPG adaptation was The Lord of the Rings Online in 2007 – a game that’s now quite dated. Fans were excited about a new, modern take on the world of Middle-earth, but development on the project stopped in October 2025.
As reported by Bloomberg, Amazon started laying off 14,000 employees in late October 2025, heavily impacting Amazon Games, the studio behind an ongoing online role-playing game. Although the specific areas affected weren’t immediately known, Ashleigh Amrine, a former Senior Gameplay Engineer at Amazon Games, announced on LinkedIn that she was one of those laid off and confirmed the cancellation of the Lord of the Rings online game. She hinted the game was promising, saying, “You all would have loved it,” suggesting a significant investment of time, skill, and resources had been made.
Amazon’s Layoffs Resulted in the death of the Lord of the Rings MMORPG
Amazon Games has been publishing games since 2012, but recent layoffs announced on October 28, 2025, signal a change in direction. The company is now prioritizing its cloud gaming service, Luna, which lets people play games on their TVs. While the long-awaited Lord of the Rings online game has been cancelled, Amazon Games will still be developing March of Giants, a new Tomb Raider game, and other games focused on casual play and artificial intelligence.
The recent layoffs and cancellation of a highly anticipated Lord of the Rings MMORPG are disappointing news for both developers and fans. Since the first Lord of the Rings film came out in 2001, gamers have enjoyed many games based on the popular franchise, and several older titles remain popular even today. While details were limited, this new game promised a vast, immersive Middle-earth experience, inspired by the world of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books. Its cancellation is a significant loss for the gaming community.
The game’s cancellation is disappointing for dedicated fans and a lost chance to connect it with Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series. Integrating the show would have broadened the game’s story, taking place before the events leading up to Sauron’s defeat. Even if players didn’t love the series, it would have added more content and playtime. Now, it could be a long time before another studio tries to create a Lord of the Rings MMORPG.
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2025-10-30 18:10