The planned Lord of the Rings MMO has been cancelled due to an ongoing dispute between Amazon and Tencent, according to a report.
Amazon and Chinese developer Leyou Technologies worked on the game until Tencent Holdings Ltd. purchased the developer in December last year. An ensuing contract dispute between Amazon and Tencent led to the cancellation of the Lord of the Rings MMO.
Announced at the end of 2018 by developer Athlon Games, the Lord of the Rings MMO would have provided players with an online game set in the world of Middle Earth.
Following other live services like Destiny 2 and Fortnite, the cancelled game would have lasted several years according to the initial announcement.
Speaking to Bloomberg, an Amazon spokesperson confirmed the Lord of the Rings MMO’s cancellation, saying: “We have been unable to secure terms to proceed with this title at this time.” The team which worked on the cancelled Lord of the Rings title will move on to other projects.
A spokesperson for the developer provided Bloomberg with a statement: “We love the Lord of the Rings IP, and are disappointed that we won’t be bringing this game to customers.”
This news brings Amazon Game Studios’ number of cancelled titles to three. The studio has not released a game since it opened in 2014.
Amazon is still working on the massively multiplayer online title, New World. The developer announced the game in 2016, but it has since experienced a number of delays. New World is scheduled to release this August.
The PS5 has become the fastest-selling console in US history, in unit and dollar sales, after five months on the market.
This news follows confirmation by the UK Monthly Boxed Chart that the PS5 was also the best-selling console in the UK for the second month in a row.
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