Embracer Group’s Middle-earth Enterprises and Amazon Games have announced a new The Lord of the Rings game. The title is expected to be published on PC and consoles and will take from both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

In a new press release from Embracer, the studio states that the title will be an "MMO which will do justice to the expansive Middle-earth universe". The deal is the first major partnership to come to light since Embracer Group bought the rights to the Tolkien properties with its acquisition of Middle-earth Enterprises, and follows Embracer and Amazon's deal regarding the Tomb Raider franchise last year.

New World Studio Will Lead Lord Of The Rings MMO Development

Characters from New World stand before the Eye of Sauron from Lord of the Rings

The as yet untitled Lord of the Rings MMO's development is being led by the Amazon Games' Orange County studio, which previously helmed another open-world MMO: New World. New World was a fellow fantasy title set on the supernatural island of Aeternum, modeled after the Americas. New World was nominated for Best Multiplayer Game at The Game Awards in 2021 and managed to position itself among the top-played games on Steam that year, so Amazon and Embracer are likely hoping for a similar or larger success from the studio when coupled with such a well-known IP as Lord of the Rings.

LOTR Fans Can Expect More Games In The Coming Years

Gollum sits on a rock looking toward the Eye of Sauron with Mount Doom to the right in the distance in the cover art for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.

While 2023 sees two The Lord of the Rings games being released: EA's mobile game Heroes of Middle-earth, and Daedalic Entertainment's The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, the new Embracer Group acquisition means that many more games based on Tolkien's works are on the horizon. Embracer's press release described the world of Middle-earth as "an endlessly fertile ground for creators." Amazon has deemed the team at Embracer Group as "excellent collaborators" following their work on Tomb Raider in the past year, so it's likely that the studios will be keen to work together on further projects outside the new MMO.

The new The Lord of the Rings MMO is still in the early stages of production, and therefore little is known about it outside the stories it will explore. With the studios clearly ionate about and keen to do justice to Tolkien's Middle-earth and stating that they will team up with "the best industry partners" to do so, the new title is definitely one to watch for fans of the iconic fantasy series.