Amazon is “continuing to explore a compelling new game” in the Lord of the Rings franchise after scrapping its MMO

Published:

14 May 2026

Last Updated: 14 May 2026

By:

Following the cancellation of its in-development Lord of the Rings MMO, Amazon is continuing to invest in a new, mysterious game set in Middle Earth.

In a new report, Amazon’s head of games Jeff Grattis confirmed that the company is not done with Lord of the Rings games. While the executive didn’t explain what titles are in development, Middle Earth is coming back in video game form.

Right now, the Amazon executive only hinted that there’s one LOTR game in development. Additionally, the game is in development with assistance from the Tolkien estate.

“Our creative team continues to explore a compelling new game experience that does justice to Tolkien’s world; we are working closely with Middle-earth and remain excited about the IP,” the Amazon gaming lead told Eurogamer.

The news comes just months after the cancellation of the company’s aforementioned Lord of the Rings MMO. Coinciding with mass layoffs across Amazon’s gaming division, the MMO’s cancellation came alongside the closure of popular survival MMO New World.

“This morning I was part of the layoffs at Amazon Games, alongside my incredibly talented peers on New World and our fledgling Lord of the Rings game (y’all would have loved it),” gameplay engineer Ashleigh Amrine said at the time.

“It’s always tough to see such a strong team go through something like this,” they continued. “I’ve been lucky to work with some of the most skilled, creative, and kind developers I’ve ever met here.”

The last game in the Lord of the Rings franchise to release was last year’s Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game. A cozy life simulator set in The Shire, the game released to middling reviews. The game’s last update launched in August.

When it comes to AAA affairs, the last Middle-Earth video game was 2017’s Middle-Earth: Shadow of War. Its developer, Monolith Productions, was closed by publisher Warner Bros in 2025.

About The Author

Lewis White

Lewis White is a veteran games journalist with over a decade in the field. Starting with beloved Xbox website ICXM/XboxMAD, Lewis became the Gaming Editor at MSPoweruser before becoming the Editor in Chief of StealthOptional and Gfinityesports. Lewis later jumped to By Gamers For Gamers where he jumped to become EIC of VideoGamer and the host of the New VideoGamer Podcast prior to the website’s acquisition.

Over the years, Lewis has also seen long-form investigative pieces published in outlets such as Eurogamer, PCGamesN, Wireframe, Retro Gamer, Nintendo Life, and EDGE. Now, as the Editor in Chief of FRVR Blog, Lewis strives to bring the same level of quality journalism with interview-led content to the site in both written and audio form with the FRVR Podcast.

With a First Degree BA Hons in Games Journalism and Public Relations, Lewis has been a stable part of the British games press for over a decade, and has frequently displayed his love of Halo, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and other games pretty much everywhere he’s worked. And FRVR is no different.

See author's posts