Amazons New Lord of the Rings MMO in Jeopardy After Major Job Cuts

It seems that the recent wave of layoffs at **Amazon** has inflicted significant damage not only on New World but also on the upcoming MMORPG set in the **Lord of the Rings** universe. While the company has yet to make any formal announcements, journalists from Rock, Paper, Shotgun have reported a potential cancellation of the project, citing remarks from Ashleigh Amrine, a former senior gameplay engineer at **Amazon Games**.

Following the layoffs, Amrine shared the following message on her LinkedIn page:

Ashleigh Amrine

According to information from Bloomberg, **Amazon** plans to cut back on expenses for high-budget projects, specifically focusing on AAA-level MMOs, which is what the **Lord of the Rings** game announced in 2023 was supposed to be. This, however, is not the first such setback; back in 2019, **Amazon** became involved in the development of a now-canceled MMO based on the **Lord of the Rings** from the Chinese firm **Leyou Technologies**. The contract was terminated in 2021 soon after **Leyou** was acquired by **Tencent**.

As for the new game, gamers will just have to wait for official statements from **Amazon**. Meanwhile, servers for New World will remain active throughout 2026, and the company has promised to inform users of any shutdowns at least six months in advance.