LOTR Coming Sooner? Amazon Games Chief Discusses Future of Studio! Calls New World "MMO"!

Amazon Games' Vice President, Christoph Hartmann, was recently interviewed by Variety. As part of this interview, he discussed the future of the studio as a whole. New World gets a mention and so does the upcoming LOTR MMO as well as Tomb Raider game.
Full Interview: variety.com/2024/gaming/news/...
❤️PATREON: / dukesloth
00:00 - Amazon Games Chief Interview
01:29 - 8 games in development
02:50 - Throne & Liberty Launch
04:16 - New World called MMO
05:09 - Amazon-related IPs? "The Boys"?
07:14 - Focus on multiple games at once
08:01 - Impact of AI on gaming
09:48 - Why PC/Console and not mobile games?
10:19 - Release schedule?
11:00 - Calls New World console version an MMO
11:28 - Monetization & P2W
12:14 - LOTR "not too far away"
13:39 - Growth & Hiring?
15:19 - LOTR show tie-in?
#NewWorld #amazongames #ags
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[@kestrik]

In other words, LoTR MMO will be released 3-4 years before completion, just like New World. Cuz, you know, it makes sense for Amazon to leverage all that success they've had with Rings of Power. 🤣🤣

[@SakiLearning0]

it wasn't that successful

[@OccamsEraserhead]

​@@SakiLearning0Whoosh

[@dinozavarTV]

LOTR will be reskinned New World. I don't expect anything else.

[@Mactrizel]

Amazon games needs new leadership

[@joshuajoyce7890]

After the New World debacle and them allowing it to just die I think i will take my sweet ass time before I consider playing another Amazon MMO

[@CascadenTV]

"For me personally" Right there...there is the issue. We got some ego's at AGS.

[@gamezonereactions8388]

☠☠☠AGS - Where games go to die. ☠☠☠

[@Eas_the_Planeswalker]

AGS Made it to my 'red flag' publisher/dev list 🤷‍♂️

[@FreedomRoseStein]

Christoph Hartmann really out here just sayin shit huh

[@FinancialShark]

good video, I like this content and industry news, thanks!

[@michaelhoward6831]

Thanks for the warning. Can you set up steam to block publishers from suggestions?

[@weirdodude1173]

Allowing the New World devs to drive the game into the ground isn't a great look for the studio, but I can see them believing that console is a good area to get the game into. Let's just hope some of those hires that were mentioned will be making good content for New World and fixing the endgame so it can retain players. Thumbs up.

[@LordGank1]

I wonder if he saw the #firescottlane comments filling the twitch chat during summer games fest

[@petemisc4291]

It comes down to what’s his definition of “soon”

[@heranef3594]

"we like to take the time to release games now it takes 5 years", funny coming from the boss of NW that was release 1 year too early

[@iimcastro]

a lot of speculation on ur part, cuz his anwsers seemed so CEOy but cool vid duke

[@Label07]

Edit: AGS does not have a foot in with New World, more like a toe.

[@Samrajel]

point of the nail of that said toe

[@hobodarkness7696]

Howdy also i want lotr skins in smite already

[@ryanhood5984]

If console fails to bring the crowd that AGS is hoping for I could see AGS shutting down new world and giving the 2 or 3 remaining players a free copy of lord of the rings

[@BubbaSvensson]

It would be a good gift at least... But hopefully they see the potential in New World first and fix it. So they can work on Lotro long enough to not make a shit launch and first years.

[@mgw5377]

It won't shut down. They would leave the servers up and more likely keep up with maintenance but they would cease making content.

[@ryanhood5984]

@@BubbaSvensson I hope they do. I have fun and hope AGS will invest into end game.

[@ryanhood5984]

@@mgw5377 feels like they already have. Maybe after October they will become more consistent with content.

[@fatjay9402]

LoL coming soon in 2030 .. done by ChatGPT 8 ( What will be better :P then what ever AGS will do )

[@actosh7670]

I doubt that they can keep a content/Feature flow Like ESO,wow or ff14 have. Doubt that their lotro can sustain a healthy Playerbase over time.

[@dokanyon]

Damn even though they are the worst devs ive seen in my 25 year online gaming experience, i won't be able to resist it, especially if it has good (or better at that time) graphics like NW and similar combat :( I just hope they will do less mistakes than they did with NW.

[@0D1N420]

Idk if AI is merely a buzz word. AI could most likely put out a game update without bugs and broken features....... lookin at you AGS Dev's, lookin at you.

[@karisalonen12]

So they see the writing on the wall that New World is as good as dead and they must bring LOTR sooner or they might as well cancel it.

[@Cernunn0s90]

Well, if LOTR releases in the next 2-3 years then we know what buggy unstable mess we can expect...

[@razvanbreazu4020]

Sadly no Mmo will beat wow in our lifetime. New world was amazing but how they abandoned the game is very impressive to me . Best combat ever but no players to play with. In August wee all gona play wow again .

[@MetroidCannonBall]

Well said sir, I was thinking the same thing. WoW is king, I have tried every mmo on the market. New world was the FIRST one to rival WoW in combat. But that's where the rivalry stopped & WoW kicked the shit out of NW.

[@freelancerxxx]

@@MetroidCannonBall Rift was better than WoW but killed by its own devs just like NW

[@givls9326]

trash clunky unresponsive combat, with animation-locking movement, and s.. made by physics teachers, you can dodge a comet by jumping 10cm..

[@omaior20]

only people that still play NW are just hardcore stans that are held hostage by sunk cost fallacy and cant let go a dead game. with that community surely LOTR gonna pop off

[@Trigarta]

The Rings of Power Show was just awful. I hope they are not going into the same direction with the LOTR MMO but judging by that it is AGS developing the game that could definitely happen. 😑

[@Der_Wolvenfang]

Quality he says. Lol.

[@razzafour6887]

even the game chief trolls us.. lotr not too far away !

[@raeraeella6426]

Amazon would have had greater sucess if New World was available on private servers and had mod support. Unfortunately Amazon had to control everything and lost hundreds of thousands of players wothin months

[@Z-MACx]

Nice 👍🏻

[@Samrajel]

"We don't want p2w" *Meanwhile tries to hide Lost Ark"

[@freelancerxxx]

Publisher only ,not dev

[@kadeskywalker8367]

They are going to destroy and kill the LOTR game just like they killed lost ark and new world. AGS is crap

[@Trikeree]

From the top down! Replace these people! They have no clue what they're doing. They're willing to destroy trust with current fans of New World for a money grab. The "data" they go by is bullshit. If they built a working game and established a trusting relationship with the player base they wouldn't be in this position, and they could have grown into console still with a happy family of players. They are so out of touch with the reality of what games are truly for to the people playing them.

[@DejvidR6]

if this guy is happy with new world DEVS we all knows new LOTR mmo wont be any good..

[@DynaPirate]

MMOs are mostly boring today because they refuse to evolve the gameplay established 20+ years ago. If the LOTR mmo actually lets me play like Legolas instead of being a walking turret like every mmo besides New World, I'm for it.

[@GhostManOnSixtieth]

I would actually prefer they stop using the MMO category for these newer “MMOs” because the traditional MMO crowd are what steered New World away from what it was intended to be. A large scale open world PvP game. Traditional MMO players are tab target ability cycle nerds who don’t want to have to aim their character, etc. they’re not what these games should have been catered to. I honestly believe if New World had leaned into the PvP aspect of the game harder they would have made something different and retained a different kind of playerbase. Just look at how much hype Shroud had and brought to the game. That’s what New World needed. That playerbase.

[@BubbaSvensson]

Exactly, I don't understand why every game nowdays need to be so focused in that you can play and change easy between every different role. Choose your class/type/character by heart and everyone will have a big value. Game social aspect will be 100% better and important. Just like old times. Then you can make it semi-alt friendly ofc, so those who want can have their alts after some time playing as well. But not just in few days playing like it is today. Maybe 50% of the time you had spent on your main you can get a alt to same level. It's enough.

[@GhostManOnSixtieth]

@@BubbaSvensson I was actually advocating for the opposite of “like old times”. People who like the old MMO experience already have/had that. It already exists. Let these new games be new and different and stop marketing them to the MMO players. Ideas like yours keeps everything samey and boring.

[@DynaPirate]

@@GhostManOnSixtieth 100% agree. I've always said, if they focused on pvp, leaned into esports and refined the combat, New World would have become something really special.

[@ravelgrosser-arat9492]

Why this guys don’t loose their job after failing so hard…

[@W9HJBill]

Well, that seals the deal ... I will NOT be playing the LotR game if they want to make it like the Rings of Power show ... which is nothing but WOKE TRASH.

[@mgw5377]

Lol you should look at the tomb raider game. Basically Lara is ugly now and she's not a tomb raider because it's "racist"