It's a bad day for Lord of the Rings fans, as it looks like Amazon has cancelled plans for its online role-playing game based on the fantasy franchise.
The MMORPG (that's Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game to you and me) was announced back in 2019 by Amazon Game Studios and Leyou-owned Athlon Games.
At the time, it was revealed that the game would be a free-to-play adventure set in Middle-earth as 'portrayed in The Lord of the Rings literary trilogy' rather than Peter Jackson's movie trilogy.
While the concept proved a popular one with the fans, Bloomberg reports that the game has been dropped due to an alleged dispute.
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You see, Leyou was acquired by Tencent Holdings in December of last year and, when contract negotiations between Amazon and Tencent ensued, it led to a disagreement.
This was revealed by a source who spoke to the publication but asked to remain anonymous as they weren't permitted to speak publicly on the matter.
An Amazon spokesperson explained that after Tencent's takeover of Leyou, 'we have been unable to secure terms to proceed with this title at this time'.
As such, the Amazon team who were developing the game have been given other projects to concentrate on.
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Opening up about the disappointment that the game won't be going ahead, the spokesperson added: "We love Lord of the Rings IP, and are disappointed that we won't be bringing this game to customers."
The news follows a number of issues with Amazon's gaming division, which up until now has only released a handful of games and is yet to bag a hit since launching in 2014.
Bloomberg went on to point out how the company had to cancel or remove other games that had been made public, including Breakaway and Crucible.
What will happen with the latest concept is yet to be seen, but all is not lost for fans of the fantasy franchise, as the Lord of the Rings TV series is set to debut later this year.
In 2020, it was announced that the show had been given the go-ahead to start shooting in New Zealand.
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This followed the exemption of 206 cast and crew members from various productions to enter the country following the coronavirus pandemic.
The show itself, produced by Amazon Studios, will take place in the Second Age of Middle-earth, before the events of the J. R. R. Tolkien novel and films.
Words by Daisy Phillipson
Topics: GAMING, Amazon, Lord Of The Rings