Amazon and Tencent's Lord of the Rings MMO was scrapped because "we're too big as companies"

Lord of the Rings
(Image credit: New Line)

𓄧Amazon says it canceled its Lord of the Rings MMO because the involvement of Chines🔜e tech giant Tencent complicated things too much.

When news of 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:the Lord of the Rings M🌠MO's cancelatio🌟n broke in April of last year, Amazon only said that it had "been unab🅰le to secure terms to proceed" with the project following Tencent's acquisition of developer Leyou Technologies. So, we had reason to suspect it had something to do with the entertainment💯 conglomerate being involved, but now we have confirmation.

, Amazon Games president Christoph Hartmann explained that the ill-fated Lord of the Rings project became "very complicated" after Tencent's buyout, and that's when Amazon decided it was best to walk.

One major roadblock was a clause written into Middle-earth Enღterprises that allowed it to terminate the deal in the event of a partner acquisition, and when Tencent bought Leyou, the license-holder did exactly that. However, Hartmann said that negotiations continued for a while in an effort by the companies to work out a way forward for the MMO, but eventually Amazon called it quits.

"The question was, sure, maybe could hav🌱e worked together with Tencent to do something, but I think we're too big as com💦panies to really turn into partners doing a property together where they own the license and we develop the game," Hartmann said. "So we decided it's better to not work together there. Then we tried to figure something out with both ends, but I think it just dragged on too long."

Of course, Amazon Games did wind up launching its own original MMO, titled New Woꦐrld, and it's also the Western publisher for the top-down MMO Lost Ark. "I want to keep on investing in that. I know, it's not going to be Lord of the Rings, but we have ꦰour own fantasy; why not keep building on that," Hartmann said.

For what to play now, check out our ranking of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best MMOs in 2022.

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After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for pla🌱ces like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing tꦺhe site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.