Amazon Games is publishing the co-op title King of Meat. It has also entered publishing deals with Maverick Games for its narrative-driven open-world title and Crystal Dynamics for the next Tomb Raider game. All of this is to say that the company is looking to diversify its publishing offerings, which has been further confirmed by EMEA Publishing Director Jon Rosenblatt to GamesIndustry.
“Our strategy has always been to develop and publish games of the highest quality. We’re not hell bent on it just being MMOs. […] It’s really important for us to continue to build amazing games, but also make sure that the games are diverse in their look and their feel.”
Rosenblatt further claims that Amazon isn’t tied to any genre or game type when it seeks projects to put its publishing muscle behind, talks up how the success of New World and Lost Ark opened a lot of doors for the company’s publishing arm, and how Amazon isn’t “bound by fiscal responsibilities” when it comes to delivering titles.
That is all taken at the company’s face value, but Rosenblatt’s comments elide how New World’s Aeternum announcement went out of its way to avoid calling the game an MMORPG and repackage it as something brand-new – a tactic that’s continuing in other upcoming media. We also remember when Amazon started, announced, then scrapped games like Breakaway and Crucible. So while King of Meat may be an oddball for Amazon not just in name only, it’s all part of the company’s attempt to all but outright dodge away from MMOs – and perhaps have shorter term memories of events.
