A new MMO based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is being made, co-developed by Amazon Game Studios and Leyou. The MMO is said to be based on Middle-earth prior to the events of The Lord of the Rings "exploring lands, people, and creatures never seen before." No official announcement has been made regarding The Lord of the Rings MMO's supported platforms or planned release window.

The new Lord of the Rings game was technically announced in September 2018 by Athlon Games. Athlon is a publishing subsidiary of the Leyou holding company and at the time confirmed that it had signed a licensing agreement with Middle-earth Enterprises, but declined to reveal who its development partner was at the time. Only now has Amazon Game Studios confirmed its role in the Lord of the Rings MMO's development, though it's unclear how long the studio has been working on the project.

Athlon president Dave Miller said that the project will "help us further our goal of creating AAA cooperative console and PC experiences," implying the title will be multi-platform. Otherwise, little has been said about the game other than it will be free-to-play. The project is also confirmed to be unrelated to Amazon's other The Lord of the Rings television show headed by the director of Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom.

Amazon Game Studios currently has another MMO in development named New World, as well. New World is an open world sandbox MMO where players colonize a fictional land filled with wildlife and mysterious evil. It's unclear if The Lord of the Rings MMO will be similar in nature, but it stands to reason that Amazon's MMO-development experience will crossover.

The Lord of the Rings is a storied franchise not just across media, but specifically within video games. There's a whole slew of titles based on the popular The Lord of the Rings films including Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War, for instance. There's even another The Lord of the Rings MMO, which is still in active development 12 years after it initially launched. The new The Lord of the Rings MMO will also be based on the books, rather than the movies, but is certain to be unique to its own.

The Lord of the Rings MMO has no announced release date or supported platforms.