Next week, we’ve got a piece coming in which one of my colleagues remarks that Amazon Game Studios’ greatest claim to fame right now is having not actually released any games in a finished state. When that was written, we certainly didn’t know that the studio was on the verge of reorganization that would see even more games deleted and more staff let go, but that’s the news breaking this afternoon: Kotaku reports that yesterday the company canceled multiple unannounced games and told “dozens” of employees they have two months to secure new positions at Amazon or be let go with severance.
As MMO players, you’re probably wondering about New World, which recently closed its alpha to go back to the drawing board for some big changes, in a move that echoed previously canceled AGS titles. However, it doesn’t necessarily sound as this week’s disasters are going to affect New World, as the company says it’s “prioritizing” development on that game.
“Amazon Game Studios is reorganizing some of our teams to allow us to prioritize development of New World, Crucible, and new unannounced projects we’re excited to reveal in the future,” Amazon’s statement reads. “These moves are the result of regular business planning cycles where we align resources to match evolving, long-range priorities. We’re working closely with all employees affected by these changes to assist them in finding new roles within Amazon. Amazon is deeply committed to games and continues to invest heavily in Amazon Game Studios, Twitch, Twitch Prime, AWS, our retail businesses, and other areas within Amazon.”
Our sympathies extend to the rank-and-file devs affected by this decision.
