Then in July, Amazon announced it was working on a special collaboration with Leyou Technologies: a new
free-to-play Lord of the Rings MMO. Curiously, Amazon revealed that "development is being led by the same Amazon Game Studios team behind
New World, and a new team being assembled for this project will utilize resources from across AGS locations in Seattle, Irvine and San Diego." The LOTR press release also referred to
New World's progress specifically: "Amazon Game Studios recently wrapped a successful alpha test of
New World, and looks forward to sharing updates on that game in the future."