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Amazon Pulls the Plug on Lord of the Rings MMO Amid Massive Layoffs
November 1, 2025Amazon’s long-hyped Lord of the Rings MMO is dead before it ever rolled out a beta. As part of this week’s major company-wide layoffs, the project has reportedly been quietly cancelled, according to a now-former Amazon Games developer.
An employee affected by the mass layoffs confirmed the news on LinkedIn. They said they were let go, alongside “my incredibly talented peers on New World and our fledgling Lord of the Rings game (y’all would have loved it).” The post adds, “It’s always tough to see such a strong team go through something like this. I’ve been lucky to work with some of the most skilled, creative, and kind developers I’ve ever met here.”
MMO Dreams Dashed as Amazon Reverses Course
If the news holds, the axing of The Lord of the Rings online comes as no shock. Just days ago, Amazon Games leadership indicated it was stepping back from ongoing MMO ambitions. They said they’re winding down their only released online RPG, New World, which marks a sharp reversal for a studio built around persistent, shared-world experiences.
The layoffs themselves have been massive: at least 14,000 jobs are being cut company-wide, and a significant share has hit Amazon Games Orange County, the home of both New World and the cancelled Lord of the Rings MMO.
This decision effectively wipes the slate clean for Amazon’s original games division. With New World’s sunset and the Lord of the Rings project cancelled, there’s no major MMO left in development at Amazon Games.
What Exactly Was Lost?
Amazon unveiled plans for their Lord of the Rings MMO back in 2023, announcing a collaboration with Middle-earth’s rights-holder, Embracer. The project promised a “persistent open-world MMO adventure” spanning both The Hobbit and the LOTR trilogy. While details had remained sparse, the project had quietly gathered excitement among Tolkien fans, eager to see what Amazon’s resources could pull off with one of fantasy’s biggest licenses.
The cancelled MMO marks another frustrating chapter for Lord of the Rings’ attempts to break back into the gaming mainstream. “Y’all would have loved it,” the laid-off employee wrote, underlining the potential now lost. Amazon’s earlier games track record has been rocky, with only New World finding some initial traction before player numbers fell off.
Now, with Amazon Games pivoting away from MMO development entirely, the ambitious Middle-earth project joins a growing list of major in-house games that never saw the light of day.
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