Despite scaling back video game releases recently—and even cancelling a Lord of the Rings MMORPG—Amazon Games is still exploring options for creating a new game based on the fantasy world.
Jeff Grattis, head of games at Amazon, told Eurogamer that the company is looking into creating new games based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. He stated that their team is dedicated to developing a game that accurately reflects Tolkien’s world and that they are actively working with the Middle-earth license, remaining enthusiastic about its potential.
Amazon Games recently announced significant reductions in staffing across several teams, including the decision to discontinue support for the online game New World. This was part of a larger layoff affecting over 14,000 Amazon employees company-wide, and also meant stopping all future development on the New World: Aeternum expansion.
In celebration of its four-year anniversary on PC, Amazon Game Studios shared a message reflecting on the amazing journey of New World, made possible by its passionate player community. They expressed deep gratitude for the feedback that helped shape the game’s world, Aeternum, into what it is today. However, after four years of updates and a recent console launch, the team has determined that they can no longer continue to develop and release new content for the game.
Last February, the company also revealed it was cancelling a story-driven driving game in development with Maverick Games. According to a company spokesperson, this decision was made to allow Amazon to concentrate on the upcoming relaunch of its Luna gaming service. Despite this change, Amazon Games will still publish the two new Tomb Raider games, Legacy of Atlantis and Catalyst.
To better focus on projects that utilize Amazon’s strengths, like the recently relaunched Luna and our partnership with Crystal Dynamics on the Tomb Raider franchise, we’ve decided to end our publishing agreement with Maverick Games, a spokesperson said.
We greatly admire the team at Maverick Games and the exciting story-driven racing game they’re developing. They’ve decided to seek a different publishing partner whose goals better match their vision for launching the game. We’re happy with what we achieved together and wish them all the best going forward.
Regarding the Lord of the Rings online game, Amazon Games didn’t officially announce its cancellation. Instead, the news came from Ashleigh Amrine, a former gameplay engineer, who shared on LinkedIn that layoffs had occurred.
Amrine announced on a now-deleted social media post that they were affected by layoffs at Amazon Games, along with other skilled team members working on New World and the early stages of the Lord of the Rings game, which they believed players would have enjoyed.
Alongside all of this, people are also talking about a new, large-scale project potentially being developed based on The Lord of the Rings.
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2026-05-14 16:16