In a surprising development, Amazon is implementing a massive corporate layoff, eliminating over 14,000 jobs. A considerable portion of these job losses will directly impact the tech giant’s video game division.
An internal memo indicates that these job reductions are primarily concentrated in Amazon’s Irvine and San Diego offices. While the precise number of gaming division employees affected remains unspecified, the core publishing unit is undergoing significant cuts. This strategic shift aims to lessen the company’s investment in large-scale game development, particularly for ambitious MMO titles.
Steve Boom, Amazon’s Vice President of Audio, Twitch, and Games, acknowledged in an email that this was a ‘difficult decision.’ He noted that this comes despite the commendable achievements of the company’s in-house AAA game development and publishing teams.
Boom stated, “While we’re proud of our successes in first-party AAA game development and publishing, we have made the difficult decision to halt a significant amount of our first-party AAA game development work—specifically concerning MMOs—within Amazon Game Studios. This includes substantial role reductions across our studios in Irvine and San Diego, and within our central publishing team.”
Among Amazon’s notable gaming ventures are Lost Ark and New World, both massively multiplayer online RPGs that garnered reasonable critical acclaim. New World, launched in 2021, marked Amazon’s initial dive into game development and is now accessible on consoles following its PC debut. Lost Ark, released in 2022, remains a PC-exclusive title, also published under Amazon’s gaming arm.
Reports suggested the company was also developing other projects, such as unannounced Lord of the Rings and Tomb Raider MMOs. However, it’s highly probable that these titles are now on indefinite hold or have been canceled entirely.
This current wave of layoffs follows a previous restructuring two years ago, when approximately 100 employees were let go from the gaming division. At that time, Amazon Games VP Christoph Hartmann reassured staff in April 2023 that the company intended to “continue to invest in our internal development efforts, and our teams will continue to grow as our projects progress.” This recent announcement sharply contrasts with those previous assurances.