Background information
«Lord of the Rings»: what we can expect from the TV series
by Luca Fontana
Amazon is working on a "Lord of the Rings" free-to-play MMO
11.7.2019
Translation: machine translated
The new "Lord of the Rings" MMO will be free-to-play and relies on veterans who have worked on "Destiny", "WoW" and "Everquest".
Moment, there is already a "Lord of the Rings" MMO? That's right. It's called "The Lord of the Rings Online" and is still very popular. However, after twelve years, it's time for something new. At least that's what Amazon thinks. On Wednesday it was announced that Amazon Game Studios is working on a new MMO in the "Lord of the Rings" universe.
The game was actually announced back in September 2018. At the time, however, it was published by Athlon Games, which in turn is a subsidiary of the Chinese games group Leyou. Amazon has now confirmed that it is a development partner on this project. Leyou, which owns Digital Extreme ("Warframe") and Splash Damage ("Brink", "Dirty Bomb") among others, are also responsible for marketing in China. Amazon is responsible for the rest of the world. "The game will give fans around the globe a new immersive gaming experience for epic explorations of Tolkien's vast world," writes Amazon in a press release.
Contradictory statements on the timing
The console and PC game is not based on Peter Jackson's film trilogy, but on J.R.R. Tolkien's original novel. The game is therefore not to be associated with Amazon's "Lord of the Rings" TV series planned for 2021.
This is somewhat surprising. The series is set in the Second Age and therefore long before the events of the Lord of the Rings books. Athlon Games also claimed the same a year ago. It is possible that the direction of the game has changed since then.
The game will be based on a free-to-play model. During development, Amazon is counting on veterans who have worked on well-known online games such as "Destiny", "Planetside", "WoW", "Everquest", "Defiance" and "Rift". A release date is not yet known.
What do you think? Will it be something? Personally, I'm thinking about reactivating my old "The Lord of the Rings Online" account and seeing how my hobbit bard is doing. <p
Header image: Picture: "Middle-earth: Shadow of War"
Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chBeing the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.
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