As part of the parent company’s thousand job cuts announced a few weeks ago, Amazon Games also confirmed that it is laying off over a hundred employees after CNBC first reported the news. Affected divisions include Prime Gaming, Game Growth, and the San Diego development studio.
Prime Gaming is, of course, focused on delivering free games and in-game items to Prime subscribers. Game Growth is perhaps less known to the public, as it is a service offered by Amazon to partners. Here’s an excerpt from a Game Growth job ad that’s still live:
Here in Game Growth, we are re-imagining how game creators promote their products across the globe and reach audiences who will be delighted by their content. Our vision is to enable game consumers to easily find and access any game experience, for any platform, anywhere in the world.
The Game Growth team cuts no corners in our objective to create the world’s best experiences. We invest heavily in both our roadmap for success and our team members who are bringing it to life. We thrive on challenging each other to improve our skills, consider new methods, and go beyond our limitations.
The only game development division affected is Amazon Games San Diego, which was led by former Sony Online Entertainment chief John Smedley for several years before his recent departure. The studio has been working on an unannounced project, and Amazon Games VP Christoph Hartmann confirmed in the internal memo shared by CNBC that the game had not been canceled. He said the San Diego team will double down on pre-production since it is not yet ready for full production.
Hartmann lamented the need for the layoffs but also said the impacted employees would receive severance pay, health insurance benefits, outplacement services, and paid time while they find another job.
The Amazon Games VP said resources are being realigned to support content creation. The New World team, which recently released the game’s first season, is poised to grow; the Montréal team, led by a former Ubisoft veteran, is also expanding, and its project is reportedly progressing very well; and the publishing division will see growth, too, as Amazon eyes new projects to bring under its umbrella. They’re already publishing Lost Ark from Smilegate and have announced deals with Glowmade (new IP), Disruptive Games (new IP), Bandai Namco (Blue Protocol), NCSoft (Throne and Liberty), and, of course, Crystal Dynamics (new Tomb Raider).
