Amazon Studios Is Working On A Lord Of The Rings Video Game

Amazon has announced it is going to develop a Lord of The Rings MMORPG - that's Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game to you and me.

According to reports, the new video game will be a free-to-play adventure set in Middle-earth as 'portrayed in The Lord of the Rings literary trilogy'.

Which for the purists among you, means it will be based on J.R.R. Tolkien's original books, and not Peter Jackson's movie trilogy.

In a statement, Amazon Game Studios VP Christoph Hartmann said: "Tolkien's Middle-earth is one of the richest fictional worlds in history, and it gives our team of experienced MMO developers - from the same studio developing New World - tremendous opportunity to play and create."

New Line Cinema

It will also be completely separate from Lord of the Rings Online, the MMO that was launched back in 2007 and still runs today.

This new MMORPG will reportedly be set in the Second Age, before the events of The Hobbit and the LOTR take place.

The Second Age sets everything up for Tolkien's world, though, considering it's a period of more than 3,000 years, there's more to it that that. And as one of the developers behind the game, Athlon, hasn't really said much at all about the game since it was originally announced, we don't know when abouts in the Second Age it will take place.

But this isn't the only LOTR product the busy little bees at Amazon are working on at the moment, they are also in the process of producing a television series.

Athlon

According to a TV industry source, the £1 billion series will start shooting in just a few months, with a studio in Scotland earmarked as the base for much of it.

Speaking to the Daily Record, the source said: "Lord of the Rings producers are hoping to start filming at the new studio from about August to November.

"A lot of arrangements are already in place. All that remains now is for it to be up and running in time - so the clock is ticking.

"It's anticipated production will return for another three months from next March (2020). There could be more after that. It's a massive contract and a gigantic boost for the studio and for Scotland."

If talking trees, goblins and elves are your thing it's an exciting time to be alive, guys.

Topics: GAMING, Interesting, Lord Of The Rings

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

@SmithersDom