Amazon.com Inc lays off about 100 employees in its gaming divisions

By Cecilia D’Anastasio

Amazon.com Inc. laid off about 100 employees in its video game divisions as part of its broader layoffs, which have affected workers at Prime Gaming, Game Growth and the company’s San Diego studio.

“Our resources will be aligned to support our focus on content,” Vice President of Games Christoph Hartmann wrote in a memo to employees on Tuesday. “Going forward, we will continue to invest in our internal development efforts and our teams will continue to grow as our projects progress.”

Amazon has struggled to capitalize on its gaming resources, including through its Crown channel, an entertainment show on the Twitch streaming service. Twitch recently cut about 400 positions. The company has canceled and even withdrawn titles from sale since the split began in 2012.

Amazon has only released one in-house developed game: the online role-playing game New World, which suffered a sharp drop in its player base after launching in September 2021. The Irvine, California-based team New World will continue to grow, Hartman said.

Despite the layoffs, employees working on an unannounced project at the San Diego studio will “double down on the pre-production phase” of the game, Hartmann said. Amazon’s Montreal studio, which is also working on an unannounced project, will continue to expand.

Amazon found success with the publication of the South Korean online role-playing game Lost Ark. Hartmann said the company will increase its third-party publishing efforts, which include a recent deal with NCSoft Corp.

Amazon shares rose 0.9% to $103.29 at 2:02 p.m. in New York.