{"id":144759,"date":"2019-07-16T19:01:19","date_gmt":"2019-07-16T19:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=144759"},"modified":"2025-07-01T21:41:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T04:41:09","slug":"lord-of-the-rings-mmo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/lord-of-the-rings-mmo\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon is making a Lord of the Rings MMO game"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jeffbezos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jeff Bezos<\/a> must be on a Tolkien kick, because now <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Amazon&#8217;s<\/a> got two big Lord of the Rings projects in the works: A <a href=\"https:\/\/press.aboutamazon.com\/news-releases\/news-release-details\/amazon-adapt-jrr-tolkiens-globally-renowned-fantasy-novels-lord\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lord of the Rings TV series<\/a> which looks like it might land some time in 2021, and now they&#8217;re officially working on <strong>an MMO set in Middle Earth<\/strong> as well.<\/p>\n<p>The Lord of the Rings is a logical setting for an MMO &#8211; so much so that <strong>this isn&#8217;t the first time it&#8217;s been done<\/strong>. For those of you who can remember back as far as 2007, you might know that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lotro.com\/en\/game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Lord of the Rings Online<\/a> was (and still is) a thing. Developers <a href=\"http:\/\/standingstonegames.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Standing Stone<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.daybreakgames.com\/home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Daybreak<\/a> are the current benchmark for such a product, and with Amazon&#8217;s production and development budget we&#8217;re excited to see what they can give us.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_144761\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-144761\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-144761\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2021\/05\/LOTROnlineGandalf.jpg\" alt=\"The Lord of the Rings Online Gandalf\" width=\"700\" height=\"497\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-144761\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">2007 was a long time ago<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Who&#8217;s behind the project?<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazongames.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Amazon Game Studios<\/a> is in charge of the MMO project, but they&#8217;re not doing it alone. They&#8217;re getting help from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.athlongames.com\/athlon-games-partners-with-middle-earth-enterprises\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Athlon Games<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/leyoutech.com.hk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Leyou<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalextremes.com\/?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Digital Extremes<\/a>, the guys who made <a href=\"https:\/\/warframe.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Warframe<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/the-darkness-ii.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Darkness 2<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/bioshock-2.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bioshock 2&#8217;s<\/a> multiplayer, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/unreal-tournament-4.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Unreal Tournament<\/a> series.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-card-program\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-program__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__img\" alt=\"Warframe\" src=\"https:\/\/images.sftcdn.net\/images\/t_optimized,f_auto\/p\/604b5894-96d9-11e6-a61a-00163ec9f5fa\/1822825192\/warframe-logo.png\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-title\">\r\n        <span class=\"sc-card-program__title\">Warframe<\/span>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-program__button sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/warframe.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Download Warframe \u25ba<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-rating\">\r\n        <svg class=\"rating-score__content\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.1\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 50 50\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 50 50\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><path class=\"rating-score__background rating-score--good\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><path class=\"rating-score__value rating-score__value--80\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-dashoffset=\"80\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><text class=\"rating-score__number\" content=\"8\" text-anchor=\"middle\" transform=\"matrix(1 0 0 1 25 31.0837)\" data-auto=\"app-user-score\">8<\/text><\/svg>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <span class=\"sc-card-program__description\"><\/span>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__bigpic\" src=\"\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-program__link track-link sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/warframe.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<h3>Will the game be based on the upcoming TV series?<\/h3>\n<p>For better or for worse, the MMO will have nothing to do with the upcoming TV series. Amazon has since confirmed that <strong>the two are unrelated<\/strong> and are being developed independently of each other. It&#8217;s an odd choice considering that both projects are allegedly set thousands of years before The Hobbit and the War of the Ring trilogy.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_144762\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-144762\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-144762\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/image\/upload\/c_scale,q_auto:eco,w_700\/v1563230124\/editorial\/Aragorn_Close_up_-_FOTR.png\" alt=\"Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson Aragorn Viggo Mortenson\" width=\"700\" height=\"541\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-144762\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hopefully the King will return in a later game<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We have to admit a little disappointment not to be seeing some of our favorite characters from Peter Jackson&#8217;s trilogy (though we suppose they could throw in an immortal character like Gandalf if they so choose), but are anxious to see what they do with &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/hdAN0o3oqB8?t=19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the time that is given to them<\/a>.&#8221; Athlon has described the MMO as &#8220;an online game set in the world of Middle-earth at a time long before the events of The Lord of the Rings, exploring lands, people and creatures never seen before by fans of the Tolkien universe.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Does it have a title?<\/h3>\n<p>It certainly will! Alas, there&#8217;s nothing official yet.<\/p>\n<h3>Which platforms can play the game?<\/h3>\n<p>Amazon has said the game will be playable both on PC and on console. We hope they&#8217;re planning for cross-platform compatibility; we&#8217;ve already got eight friends who&#8217;d make a great fellowship, and not all of them play on PC.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_144763\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-144763\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-144763\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2021\/05\/LOTRFellowship.jpg\" alt=\"Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson trilogy Fellowship of the Ring\" width=\"700\" height=\"316\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-144763\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Legolas and Gimli might not play on the same platform<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>When&#8217;s the game coming out?<\/h3>\n<p>Not soon enough! Amazon hasn&#8217;t revealed a release window yet, but we&#8217;re probably looking at 2021 earliest, considering how much time and development goes into a polished product like this&#8217;ll need to be.<\/p>\n<p>Though the MMO and TV series will be unrelated to each other, with two major projects set in Tolkien&#8217;s world there&#8217;s no doubt the public&#8217;s gaze will be set on Middle Earth in the coming years.<\/p>\n<p><em>Stay tuned with Softonic for more information as it&#8217;s made available, and watch that first step off of Khazad-dum; it&#8217;s a doozy.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-related-articles-white\">\r\n<p class=\"sc-related-articles-white__title\">More about Lord of the Rings<\/p>\r\n  <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__row\">\r\n    <a title=\"Who are you in the LOTR Fellowship? (Quiz) \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/lord-of-the-rings-personality-quiz\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/image\/upload\/q_auto:good\/v1563303138\/legolas_hp5auz.jpg)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__text\">\r\n        <p>Who are you in the LOTR Fellowship? 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