“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),” wrote Amrine in the since-deleted post. Amazon has yet to make any definitive statement about the fate of the project.

An MMORPG based on The Lord of the Rings was first announced all the way back in May 2023, and was being developed by the team behind New World. The title was slated to be part of a licensing agreement that was signed between Amazon Games and Middle-earth Enterprises, which in turn is owned by Embracer Group.

Few details about the project had been confirmed, aside from the fact that it would feature the stories of the four core books from The Lord of the Rings – The Hobbit, Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King. The title was also slated to feature a persistent world where players could explore Middle-earth to quite an extent.

The cancellation of the project likely stems from the fact that Amazon is laying off more than 14,000 of its employees across various divisions, including its gaming studios. In an internal memo, the company said that its plans for game development going forward will revolve around “casual and AI-focused games”. It had also noted that development on the Tomb Raider title by Crystal Dynamics is also continuing.

Alongside the employees affected by the lay-offs, one of the bigger casualties of this has been Amazon Game Studios’ announcement that New World: Aeternum will no longer be getting any more content. The recently-released Season 10 and Nighthaven will serve as the final bit of content made for the MMORPG, and the Rise of the Angry Earth expansion has also been made free to PC players.

“As New World recognizes its fourth anniversary since launching on PC, we reflect on an incredible journey shaped by our dedicated player community,” wrote Amazon Game Studios in its announcement. “Your feedback and passion have been instrumental in evolving Aeternum into the world it is today, and our team is deeply grateful for this shared adventure. After four years of steady content updates and a major new console release, we’ve reached a point where it is no longer sustainable to continue supporting the game with new content updates.”

While there might not be any more content coming to New World: Aeternum, the studio has made assurances that the servers for the MMORPG will remain live until the end of 2026. Any changes to these plans are also slated to be announced with at least six months of notice provided to players.

Amazon Games vice president Christoph Hartmann stated, “We’re committed to bringing players high-quality games, whether through original IPs or long-beloved ones like The Lord of the Rings.

“Bringing players a fresh take on The Lord of the Rings has long been an aspiration for our team, and we’re honored and grateful that Middle-earth Enterprises is entrusting us with this iconic world. We’re also pleased to be expanding our relationship with Embracer Group following our Tomb Raider deal last year, as they’ve proven to be excellent collaborators.”

Embracer Freemode CEO Lee Guinchard also said, “The world of Middle-earth continues to prove endlessly fertile ground for creators and Amazon Games has a passion for building immersive, compelling worlds and publishing games for a global audience.

“We have the clear ambition to create the highest-quality entertainment products for this IP, whether we utilize internal resources or team up with the best industry partners that complement our capabilities. We’re taking every care to deliver an MMO which will do justice to the expansive Middle-earth universe and delight players around the world.”

The MMO will take place in a persistent version of Middle-earth and features the stories of The Lord of the Rings trilogy – The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King – and The Hobbit. Of course, this isn’t the only Lord of the Rings title in the works. Daedalic Entertainment’s The Lord of the Rings: Gollum arrives in May, while Free Range Games’ The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is out this Spring.

Electronic Arts’ The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth is also still in the works, and Private Division is working with Weta Workshop (which was heavily involved with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films) on an untitled game set in Middle-earth. Stay tuned for more updates in the meantime.

For those unaware, Middle-Earth Enterprises owns and oversees the intellectual property catalogue and rights to films, video games, merchandising, theme parks, and more relating to The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as rights in other Middle-earth-related literary works authorized by the Tolkien Estate and HarperCollins.

That’s right, the Embracer Group just owns all of The Lord of the Rings now, not just the license to develop games based on it.

“I am truly excited to have The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, one of the world’s most epic fantasy franchises join the Embracer family, opening up more transmedia opportunities including synergies across our global group,” said the Embracer Group’s CEO and founder Lars Wingefors. “I am thrilled to see what lies in the future for this IP with Freemode and Asmodee as a start within the group. Going forward, we also look forward to collaborating with both existing and new external licensees of our increasingly stronger IP portfolio.”

“We at the Zaentz Company have had the honor over the past half century of stewarding the Tolkien rights so that Lord of the Rings and Hobbit fans worldwide could enjoy award winning epic films, challenging video games, first rate theatre and merchandise of every variety,” said Marty Glick, COO of The Saul Zaentz Company. “We could not be more thrilled that it is Embracer now taking up the responsibility and we are confident their group will take it to new heights and dimensions while maintaining homage to the spirit of these great literary works.”

This is one of several recent acquisitions made by the Embracer Group, with the company also purchasing game development studios like Tripwire Interactive, Limited Run Games, Tuxedo Labs, and more. Read more on that through here.