Amazon Games’ Chris Hartmann Comes Out Swinging At Lord Of The Rings Online

May 20, 2023 Marc Marasigan Comments

As Amazon Game Studios prepares to boldly enter the realm of Middle-earth MMOs, you’d expect them to be a bit more gracious towards those that came before them. The studio, however, is taking a more aggressive approach towards marketing its upcoming Lord of the Rings MMO and has come out swinging at Lord of the Rings Online.

In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Amazon Games VP Christoph Hartmann threw shade at the 16-year-old MMORPG, its obviously dated technology, and its fanbase. “I have a lot of respect for them to keep it going that long. They have a, not huge, but a very dedicated fanbase,” said Hartmann. “But looking just at the technology, where we’re at now, and where we will be in a couple of years, it’s just worlds apart. It’s a little exaggeration if I say it’s going to be like black and white movies to color, but that’s the approach I want to take. It’s just a completely different world.”

Hartmann continued to throw jabs at LOTRO later in the interview, even going so far as to suggest that players transfer over to their MMO. “I think they actually can co-exist. Even the most likely scenario is… for people just to move over, because the other one is an old game. It’s not a bad game, but the industry moves on at some point, and it’s a long time from their release to ours.”

Hartmann’s aspirations for the new MMO are sky-high, aiming for a lifespan of at least 10 years and the title of “the largest MMO out there.” He also revealed that they’re not afraid to stray from J.R.R. Tolkien’s sacred texts and will apparently be forging their own path through Middle-earth, purists be damned.

“It’s not going to help me if someone is saying, ‘That’s a perfect representation of the book in a game,” Hartmann said. “If you’re really into that, read the book. Read it another five times. Otherwise, if it’s a game, a game has to do with playing, and they have to be playful, so there needs to be a little bit of being able to bend the rules to make it a great game.”