Amazon s Lord Of The Rings MMO Canceled Over Tencent Dispute
KEY POINTS
Leyou Technologies, Amazon s Chinese partner, was acquired by Tencent last December
Amazon and Tencent were unable to reach an agreement regarding the game
Two years after its official announcement, Amazon’s upcoming “Lord Of The Rings” MMO has been officially canceled due to a contractual dispute with one of its China-based partners.
Amazon Game Studios had been developing the “LOTR” MMO together with Leyou Technologies Ltd., a China-based company that has been acquired by the business conglomerate Tencent Holdings Ltd., Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier has learned.
The contract between Leyou and Tencent eventually resulted in the cancellation of Amazon’s MMO project. An Amazon spokesperson said that they were “unable to secure terms to proceed with this title at this time.” Schreier noted that the team working on the canceled “LOTR” project will now be moved to Amazon’s other game pr
According to Bloomberg, the title s cancellation was the result of failed negotiations between Tencent and Amazon.
The latter announced the project in 2019 as a partnership with Leyou Technologies publishing label, Athlon Games. Leyou was acquired by Tencent in 2020, leading to new contract negotiations between Amazon and its new partner. The two parties reportedly couldn t agree on the terms, which ultimately led to the game s cancellation.
An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the information to Bloomberg, saying that following the Tencent acquisition the firm was unable to secure terms to proceed with this title at this time.
The team working on the game has been moved to other projects.
The Amazon team working on the game will be moved to other projects, she said.
Amazon Game Studios has struggled to release a successful video game since its launch in 2014.
The company has canceled previously announced games Breakaway and Crucible, while another of its games, New World, has been delayed repeatedly, Bloomberg reported.
Amazon s video game division has struggled because of mismanagement and cultural clashes between game developers and the company s principles, Bloomberg said earlier this year.
Amazon s incoming CEO Andy Jassy said earlier this year that he was committed to the video games division, which launched under outgoing chief executive and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Hannah Peters via Getty Images
Amazon told
it has canned its Lord of the Rings, developed with the help of China s Leyou, after being unable to secure terms to continue its development. However, sources claim that Tencent s recent acquisition of Leyou led to a contract dispute that ultimately killed the project.
Amazon Game Studios is struggling to get games out there and keep them on sale. It canceled
Breakaway in 2018 after lack of progress, and it dropped
Crucible after poor feedback during testing. Another MMO,
New World, has faced multiple delays and isn t expected to launch until the end of August. While Amazon remains committed to its Game Studios efforts its incoming CEO has
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