Amazon lotr mmo dates

An often asked question regarding lotro is. But what about that amazon lotr mmo? Most would assume that a game in whatever state of form it will launch is still a long time away. They were correct.

Short history

Athlon Games is the developer of the mmo. This new game developer is part of Leyou publisher. This company cooperates with Amazon in developing the mmo. Leyou recently got acquired by Tencent from where the original 2019 game license agreement was released. Which also hold some spicy 12-20% royalties and third party (Amazon) revenue limits

http://leyoutech.com.hk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/051-Game-License-Agreement-1st-amendment-5-June-2019.pdf

Dates

From a related dutch news article and the agreement itself it can be seen that June 2021 a working game prototype needs to be ready with a closed beta in septembre 2022. A Open beta 4 months later. An exact PC launch date isn’t added, but both the Xbox and PS4 version need to be running within 12 months. Making the game expected launch date (as agreed/expected in 2019) somewhere between March 2023 and December 2023

page 11 B Production schedule

There is more to find in the agreement, but a lot of it is technical and legal mumbo jumbo.

New F2P Middle-earth MMORPG Coming Soon For Console And PC

 

A new Middle-earth MMORPG is coming to PC and consoles, even though Lord of the Rings Online is still alive and well, The new Lord Of The Rings MMO was announced by Leyou Technologies and will be published and partially developed by Athlon Games.  Athlon will not be the sole developer of the project as it will also be working in tandem with a currently unknown partner developer. The project aims to “to create an engrossing new AAA experience” set in the world created by J.R.R. Tolkien. The press release adds that players will explore “lands, people and creatures never seen before by fans of the Tolkien universe.”

Additionally, the game will be set prior to the events of the famous novel series. The press release also hints at what the MMO’s business plan will be. It notes that both Leyou Technologies and Athlon Games have a “deep expertise with free-to-play game design and service” suggesting a free-to-play model for the AAA online game. While waiting for its release, one can pass the time on other options such as those on guild games.

 

 

Details are slim to none at this point, but Dave Miller Presiden Of Athlon Games Said

“It’s a singular opportunity to work closely with Middle-earth Enterprises to create a completely new experience for fans of the landmark fantasy work of J.R.R. Tolkien, and we are excited about the resurgence of interest in The Lord of the Rings IP, This, along with several other major properties Athlon is working with, will help us to further our goal of creating AAA cooperative console and PC experiences that gamers will want to play for years to come.”

 

Fredrica Drotos, Chief Brand & Licensing Officer at Middle-earth Enterprises adds

“We are extremely pleased to work with Athlon Games to create a new, immersive game experience, exploring epic regions in Middle-earth during the years leading to the events of The Lord of the Rings, Athlon’s game will allow millions of Middle-earth fans throughout the world a unique opportunity for fellowship and epic exploration.”

 

If you haven’t heard of Athlon before, that’s because it’s a new subsidiary of Chinese publisher Leyou Technologies, the company that owns Warframe developer Digital Extremes as well as Splash Damage, the studio that most recently worked on the multiplayer for Gears of War 4. The Lord of the Rings will be Athlon’s first big project.

 

More news as we get it, I’ve also reached out to Standing Stone Game for any comments or statements they might wish to share, I’ll update this as soon as I hear back.
Story developing.