14,000 People Are Leaving the Amazon Gaming Team

Amazon has decided to significantly reduce its investments in MMO projects, particularly in the MMO genre. Internal company memos indicate that a large portion of the team at Amazon’s Irvine and San Diego studios has been laid off. The decision reportedly directly impacts New World and the in-development MMO project The Lord of the Rings. Several longtime developers in Amazon’s games division confirmed their dismissals on social media.

Amazon Curtails AAA Game Development Plans

Steven Boom, Amazon’s vice president of Games and Twitch, sent a message to employees saying, “We have decided to significantly reduce our AAA game development efforts.” This announcement was widely interpreted as a signal that the company will withdraw from high-budget games and focus on smaller-scale projects in the long term. Large-scale MMOs, in particular, are seen as risky in terms of cost and sustainability.

Amazon’s journey in the gaming industry has been challenging from the start. In 2020, the company canceled its online shooter, Crucible, after just five months. In 2021, the Lord of the Rings MMO project was shelved due to a dispute with Chinese giant Tencent. Although New World had a promising launch in 2021, the game’s popularity plummeted and was deemed unsustainable in the long term.

These layoffs indicate that Amazon is taking a more cautious approach to the gaming industry. The company’s largest active project is the new Tomb Raider game, developed by Crystal Dynamics. Last year, it was announced that this project was “progressing as planned.” However, the disruptions make the future of many projects, including this one, uncertain.

Amazon’s dream of becoming a major player in the gaming world is currently stalled. With this decision affecting 14,000 jobs, the company appears poised to focus solely on its strongest brands and collaboration opportunities in the coming period.

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