Amazon obviously paid a lot of money to acquire rights to the Lord of the Rings books from the Tolkien estate. We also know that is because Jeff Bezos himself wants a TV series made based on the property.
However, it appears that Amazon is making sure they are getting their money’s worth on the property. They are apparently making a Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) videogame set in the Lord of the Rings universe as well.
Who is Developing This LoTR MMO?
Hong Kong-based Leyou is apparently partnering up with Amazon Game Studios to bring the game to life. It will be completely free-to-play and will be available on PC and mobile.
This game was actually announced as early as last year. However, it wasn’t until now that Leyou’s partner has been named.
Leyou is of course, owner of Digital Extremes, the makers of Warframe. Amazon Game Studios themselves also have another open-world MMO on the way called New World. So this Lord of the Rings project is not both company’s first rodeo.
How Does This Game Fit in the Tolkien Universe Timeline?
According to the game description via Leyou’s Athlon Games, this MMO takes place long before the events of The Lord of the Rings.
It will involve “lands, people and creatures never seen before by fans of the Tolkien universe.”
This sounds oddly similar to the description of the Amazon LoTR TV series. However, both projects are apparently unrelated and are not a companion piece for each other.
