Amazon Games, developers of the acclaimed New World online RPG game, are heading development of a new multiplayer The Lord of the Rings video game.
Embracer, the fresh new owners of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, are licensing the Middle-earth MMO gaming rights to Amazon Games, whose first and only game, New World, was a big bold swing into a crowded massive-multiplayer-gaming space against Grand Theft Auto, Minecraft, World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV, No Man’s Sky, and of course LOTRO.
This new LOTR MMO game will be a persistent open world Middle-earth set in the third age, but not based or connected to Amazon’s billion-dollar The Rings of Power TV series. Development is currently planning to launch on PC and console.
Reviews for Amazon’s New World currently sit at 6/10 on Steam with 200,000+ reviews, and a Metacritic score of 70. Metacritic is basically Rotten Tomatoes for video games, averaging review scores from professionals and the community. From what we have read, New World was praised for good modern graphics and multiplayer engagement, but with a limited set of innovative game mechanics.
This new game is unrelated to the cancelled LOTR online MMO game that was being developed in China. Amazon is building this in-house with its team from an earlier acquisition of Double Helix, a successful studio responsible for many franchise spinoff games like Enter the Matrix, Star Wars Episode III, Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb, Killer Instinct, G.I. Joe, Silent Hill, and more.
Fans may welcome a next-gen Lord of the Rings MMO experience, as one of the common knocks on the hugely successful (and still updating) LOTRO is the dated graphics. Amazon Games will have their work cut out for them to differentiate from Peter Jackson’s cinematic world, Standing Stone Games’ deep lore gaming in LOTRO, and the future secrets from The Rings of Power. LOTRO is still one of the best reviewed MMO games, even after 16 years of fresh expansions.
Standing Stone Games shares a peek at the new Lord of the Rings Online expansion Before The Shadow which dives into tales from the past. After 15 years, LOTRO is bigger than ever!
Prepare for the latest expansion to the long-running Middle-earth MMO game Lord of the Rings Online (abbreviated LOTRO) with these early images from Before The Shadow‘s in-game engine. Two new areas to venture through: the reedy fens of Swanfleet and the moors of Cardolan. Features include:
Questing from levels 1 to 32 in addition to four new Books for new characters
Two new regions: Swanfleet and Cardolan
A new Six-person Instance
A new Skirmish
A new Delving difficulty system: Higher level characters can increase the difficulty of new missions to earn great rewards!
New Themed Missions Wrapper: Earn rewards by completing daily and weekly rotating Missions!
The developers of the latest update will join us for TORn Tuesday tomorrow, Nov 15, at 5pm PT / 8pm ET.
First up have a look at Cardolan!
The new Swanfleet area!
Tune in on YouTube for a chat with the development team this Tuesday 5pm PT at youtube.com/theoneringnet. Be sure to Subscribe and turn on notifications for when we go live!
According to Gamespot, the free-to-play MMO game The Lord of the Rings Online SteamDB recorded 3,700 concurrent players on April 21.
This peak represents the highest simultaneous numbers since 2012 when the game first launched on Steam. Gamespot points out that the numbers don’t take into consideration the people who play via the game’s own proprietary launcher and client.
Players from TORn’s Discord also report that, anecdotally, the game’s servers have been noticeably busier recently with many new characters. The surge may coincide with the current 15th anniversary event that offers both current and new players a huge swag of freebies when they login.
