Update on October 30, 2025, at 3 p.m.
The former Amazon employee deleted her LinkedIn post announcing the cancellation of the Lord of the Rings MMO. It remains to be seen whether this was a mistake or a somewhat hasty statement.
Original article
After deciding to radically downsize its gaming division, Amazon has ended the development of New World. But unfortunately, one cancellation can hide another.
On LinkedIn, Ashleigh Amrine, who had worked at Amazon Games for over nine years, announced her layoff. She also revealed that the MMORPG based on The Lord of the Rings franchise had been canceled by the American giant. Amrine added that fans would have loved this massively multiplayer title.
« This morning I was part of the layoffs at Amazon Games, alongside my incredibly talented peers on New World and our fledgling Lord of the Rings game (y’all would have loved it). It’s always tough to see such a strong team go through something like this – I’ve been lucky to work with some of the most skilled, creative, and kind developers I’ve ever met here. »*
Announced in March 2023, this Lord of the Rings MMO will not see the light of day.
