Amazon is shaping up to be the unlikeliest rival to Tencent and PUBG in the online gaming arena. For this, the retailer giant is working on its own free to play massively multiplayer online (MMO) game based on the Lord of the Rings series.
This game is reportedly being developed in partnership with Leyou and according to reports, the game will be available as a free version for PC and console gamers. Amazon has shared this development via blog post by Amazon Game Studios earlier this month. The MMO game will be based in the middle Earth world from renowned author J.R.R. Tolkien.
The studio hasn’t shared a release date as of now, but we’re hopeful of the game making its way to the public in a year or two.
The game will be made available across the world, wherein Amazon handles its marketing and publishing rights in most markets, except for China, where Leyou will manage the game and its related activities.
Set in the world of Middle-earth portrayed in The Lord of the Rings literary trilogy, the game will give fans around the globe a new, immersive game experience for epic exploration of the vast world of Tolkien.Amazon Game Studios blog post
While the genre of game is completely different, but the format and its appeal of being free will put the upcoming game against PUBG, which now runs on mobile as well as PCs.
Most of you might be wondering what’s the hype about another MMO based around world of Tolkien. Well, it’s a big deal because Amazon is working on the game with veteran developers, as well as Leyou, which has a good experience in making free-to-play gaming titles like Warframe.
Looking at PUBG’s crazy success, it was a matter of time before giants like Amazon would enter the fray. While it has the resources to pull this off, can the title itself find takers, something that PUBG did with relative ease.
Gamers couldn’t be more excited!
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)