While we don't have official confirmation from Amazon itself, as Rock Paper Shotgun noticed, an engineer named Ashleigh Amrine posted an update on their LinkedIn. While the post is gone now, it said, "This morning I was part of the layoffs at Amazon Games, alongside my incredibly talented peers on New World and our fledgling Lord of the Rings game (y'all would have loved it)."
As usual, some of the most popular deals take readers back to Middle-earth. One of the standouts is a beloved 3-book box set of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings with artwork by Alan Lee on the front covers and beautiful display box. Prime members can get this vintage hardcover box set for only $40.79 (was $90), which is the lowest price this year.
A beautiful box set of the best edition of The Lord of the Rings--the Centenary Edition illustrated by Alan Lee--is on sale for a fantastic price at Amazon and Walmart. Published last October with a lofty $325 price tag, The Lord of the Rings Deluxe Illustrated Box Set is discounted to only $135.37. The current price is roughly $1 higher than the all-time low ($134.25). In 2025, the price has generally hovered in the $180-$200 range, and the last discount as good as this one didn't stick around for long.
Ian McKellen is excited to reprise his role as Gandalf in The Hunt for Gollum and has been sharing updates about the project. He stated that filming is set to begin next May for a 2027 release.