Amazon recently announced a massive layoff program, expected to cut 14,000 jobs (approximately 4%). Amazon Games Studios is among the hardest hit by this restructuring, confirming significant changes to its AAA game development strategy.
The most direct impact of this move was on MMORPGs launched in 2021 that had set a record of 91 players online simultaneously.The New World of America (New World) has officially announced the cessation of further development.
Internal memo: Strategic shift, suspension of AAA and MMO game development
According to Bloomberg NewsRefers toSteve Boom, head of Amazon's audio, Twitch, and gaming businesses, confirmed the layoffs in an internal memo, stating that the layoffs are not only part of the company's overall downsizing but also indicate a "major strategic shift" within the gaming business.
Ironically, the layoffs came just as Amazon launched its new game, *King of Meat*, and was also promoting its cloud gaming platform, Luna.RevisionThey've made it one of the added benefits of Prime membership, and even added party games.
In his memo, Steve Boom emphasized the success of the Luna platform service, stating that its integration with streaming entertainment and the value it brings to Prime members is the team's top priority.
However, while acknowledging the Luna service platform, Steve Boom also announced a difficult decision: "While we are proud of our achievements in developing and publishing first-party AAA games, we have made the difficult decision to suspend a significant amount of AAA game development work at Amazon Studios, particularly work on MMO games."
The report indicates that this move will result in "massive layoffs" at studios in Irvine and San Diego, as well as the central publishing team.
Biggest victim: "New World of the Americas" lost 95% of its players and announced its shutdown.
Amazon's investment in the gaming industry has always been staggering, with estimates suggesting annual R&D spending exceeding $5 million. They even invested heavily in developing their own engine, Lumberyard (which they later chose to open-source). New World of the Americas, released in 2021, is the only surviving title considered a "billion-dollar" Amazon blockbuster.
New World of the Americas performed exceptionally well in its early days, with third-party statistics showing that its peak concurrent player count exceeded 91 (it once ranked 11th on Steam). However, the game's peak daily concurrent player count has now dropped to just over 3, and the player churn rate has exceeded 95%.
Under the influence of the strategic shift, Amazon Game StudiosOfficial BlogSimultaneously, it was announced that the development of new content for "The New World of America" would be discontinued.
The official statement reads: "After four years of stable content updates and a major console release, we have reached a point where we can no longer provide new content updates for this game." The recently released Season 10 and Nightheaven updates will be the last content releases for New World on PC and consoles.
As a way of thanking players, the expansion pack "Rise of the Angry Earth" will be made free to play. The game servers will continue to operate until 2026 and will still be available for download to PS Plus members.
