Amazon Gaming Hit Hard by Reported Cuts

You’ve likely heard about Amazon’s recently announced layoff plans. Reports indicate the company is planning to eliminate over 14,000 corporate positions. This figure was officially confirmed today in a post on the About Amazon site by Beth Galetti, the company’s Senior VP of People Experience and Technology. While the post focuses on the overall company impact and the influence of AI (naturally), it notably omits the significant impact these layoffs will reportedly have on Amazon’s gaming division.

According to a Bloomberg report, as shared on MassivelyOP, “significant role reductions” have affected Amazon Game Studios in Irvine and San Diego. In fact, an update on Massively states that both locations are “gone,” suggesting New World will likely enter maintenance mode or be acquired by another entity. Based on the game’s Steam page, the former seems more probable (while retaining its $60 price tag). Furthermore, the Amazon Lord of the Rings game appears to be canceled for those who were anticipating it.

The overarching decision involves a shift away from online multiplayer games and MMORPGs. Currently, there’s no mention of the free-to-play titles Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty. This might be due to Amazon publishing, rather than developing, these games.

Interestingly, the strategy game March of Giants seems to be unaffected. Bloomberg also reports that Amazon will focus on developing “casual and AI-focused games” for the Luna cloud service.