Layoffs in the world of video games show no signs of stopping. The latest company to join this ‘trend’ is none other than Amazon, which has laid off more than 100 employees from its video game division, according to an internal memorandum obtained by CNBC. The layoffs impact workers from the Game Growth group, Amazon’s game studio in San Diego, and Prime Gaming.
These new layoffs are part of a restructuring being carried out by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy to cut costs in the company. Last month, Jassy announced that Amazon would lay off another 9,000 employees, in addition to the 18,000 that had already been cut previously
Amazon Games, the gaming division of the company, was launched in 2013 with the ambition of creating high-budget and high-quality games, leveraging the talent of developers from companies such as Sony (PlayStation). However, despite having released several titles, the division has faced many difficulties since then in producing a successful video game.
In 2020, Amazon released its first triple-A game, Crucible, a free multiplayer shooter that was canceled a few months later due to low user turnout. A year later, Amazon launched New World on PC, an open-world MMO that initially gained attention (boosted by a significant influencer marketing campaign). In an attempt to capitalize on the generated interest, Amazon released another MMO in February 2022: Lost Ark, which had only been available in South Korea until that moment.
Despite the layoffs, Amazon Games’ Vice President, Christoph Hartmann, stated in the memorandum that the company will continue to invest in the development of new titles, and its teams will continue to grow as their projects progress.
Additionally, Hartmann confirmed that the remaining employees at the San Diego studio will focus on the pre-production of an as-yet-unannounced project. The Montreal studio, which is also working on another secret project, will expand. It is also confirmed that work will continue on New World, the only game internally developed by Amazon that is still active, and the team in Irvine, California, behind the game, will be expanded.
