Amazon's embattled video game division has cancelled an online role-playing game based on the fantasy series The Lord of the Rings, which was first announced in 2019.
The game had been in development at Amazon Games alongside China's Leyou Technologies Holdings Ltd, which was purchased by the conglomerate Tencent in December.
The resulting contract negotiations led to a dispute between Amazon and Tencent that eventually caused the game’s cancellation, said people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorised to speak publicly about the issue.
An Amazon representative confirmed that after Tencent's acquisition of Leyou, "we have been unable to secure terms to proceed with this title at this time".
The Amazon team working on the game will be moved to other projects. "We love The Lord of the Rings IP, and are disappointed that we won't be bringing this game to customers," the representative for the Seattle-headquartered company said.
The Lord of the Rings series of novels was penned by author J R R Tolkien and adapted into a highly successful film trilogy by director Peter Jackson. The tale follows Frodo, a young hobbit, and his band of companions who must make a treacherous journey to destroy a dangerous ring once owned by a dark lord eyeing a return to power.
The cancellation follows a string of bad news for Amazon Games, which has been unable to release a successful video game since launching in 2014. The company has cancelled previous announced games Breakaway and Crucible. Another of its games, New World, has been delayed repeatedly.
Amazon owns the popular streaming service, Twitch, but its video game division has been floundering for years.
Amazon's incoming chief executive Andy Jassy said earlier this year that he was committed to the video game division, which launched under outgoing chief executive and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
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TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
