Amazon.com Inc’s video game division has canceled an online role-playing game based on the fantasy series Lord of the Rings, which was announced in 2019, an Amazon spokeswoman said.
The game was developed at Amazon Game Studios with China-based Leyou Technologies Holdings, which was acquired by Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings in December.
The resulting contract negotiations led to a dispute between Amazon and Tencent, which ultimately led to the game being canceled, Bloomberg reported earlier on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.
“After the recent takeover of Leyou by Tencent, we were not able to secure any conditions for this title at this point in time,” said the Amazon spokeswoman in a statement sent to Reuters via email.
The Amazon team working on the game will be transferred to other projects, she said.
Amazon Game Studios has struggled bringing out a successful video game since its launch in 2014.
The company has canceled previously announced Breakaway and Crucible games while another of its games, New World, has been repeatedly delayed, Bloomberg reported.
Amazon’s video game division has had issues with mismanagement and cultural clashes between game developers and the company’s principles, Bloomberg said earlier this year.
Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy said earlier this year he was committed to the video game division, which was founded under outgoing CEO and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
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