Amazon Games
Amazon's game publishing arm, maker of New World and Lost Ark, now retreating from AAA development.
On the record
Checkpoint: Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis launches after one delay, developed by a studio hit with four layoff rounds
The call
Amazon Games is shutting its own flagship MMO, lost its studio head to Ubisoft, and hasn't produced a lasting hit despite years of funding.
Amazon Games makes video games, but it is stopping. The company closed its main game-making teams in late 2025, is shutting down its big online game New World in early 2027, and has fired hundreds of workers in just over a year. No game Amazon built from scratch ever kept players interested for long. Microsoft and Sony, which run Xbox and PlayStation, make games that millions of people keep playing year after year, so they beat Amazon at this. The one thing that could matter: if the Tomb Raider game that comes out in February 2027 is actually good and players stick with it, Amazon might reconsider walking away completely.
Why
01
AI pressure: None apparent. AI isn't hunting this business, Amazon cites generative AI tools as a reason to cut its own game-dev headcount instead. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.
02
Bigger players: Microsoft Xbox Game Studios, Sony PlayStation, Ubisoft. Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation dominate subscriptions and AAA output while Ubisoft just bought Amazon's MOBA and its studio head. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. Amazon's balance sheet and AWS cloud infrastructure let it keep funding games long after the numbers say stop.
What would change this call
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis launches Feb 12, 2027 without further delay. Shows whether Amazon's remaining AAA pipeline can still ship and retain players.
Amazon publicly discloses Luna subscriber counts within the next year. Would show whether Luna has real scale versus Xbox Game Pass or stays unproven.
Crystal Dynamics or Amazon Games announces another layoff round in 2026. Would confirm continued retreat rather than stabilization of the games division.
Amazon publicly discloses Luna subscriber counts within the next year. Would show whether Luna has real scale versus Xbox Game Pass or stays unproven.
Crystal Dynamics or Amazon Games announces another layoff round in 2026. Would confirm continued retreat rather than stabilization of the games division.
Key numbers
- New World peaked at 913,634 concurrent players, fell to 400-500
- Lost Ark down ~95% from 1.32M peak to 7,000-25,000 players
- 245+ Amazon Games roles cut across four layoff rounds since Apr 2023
Named risks
- New World flagship MMO fully shutting down by Jan 31, 2027, ending Amazon's original first party title.
- Crystal Dynamics underwent 4 layoff rounds in 12 months through Mar 2026, threatening Tomb Raider execution.
- Studio head role unfilled since Hartmann departure, leadership instability as of Apr 2026.
- Luna April 2026 no refund removal of purchased games risks consumer backlash.
- Company wide AI driven layoffs at Amazon continuing into Jul 2026 could extend further into gaming.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Gaming/Xbox Game Studios | losing to | Amazon GM Gattis, an ex Xbox exec, says Amazon won't be next Xbox, Jul 2026 |
| Ubisoft | losing to | Hired Amazon Games chief Hartmann and acquired March of Giants studio, Dec 2025 to Jan 2026 |
| Sony Interactive Entertainment/PlayStation | contesting | PS Plus Premium competes directly with Luna cloud gaming as of 2026 |
| NCSoft | losing to | Amazon-published Lost Ark down about 95 percent from 2022 peak by mid 2026 |
| NVIDIA GeForce Now and Boosteroid | contesting | Cloud gaming rivals to Luna in the subscription streaming market, 2026 |
Questions people ask
- Is Amazon Games shutting down New World?
- Yes. New World: Aeternum was delisted from storefronts on Jan 15, 2026, with full server shutdown scheduled for Jan 31, 2027, after Amazon halted first party AAA development in Oct 2025.
- Has Amazon Games had layoffs?
- Yes, repeatedly. Amazon Games cut about 100 jobs in Apr 2023, made significant cuts in Oct 2025, eliminated 145 San Diego developer roles via WARN notice on Nov 24, 2025, and lost studio head Christoph Hartmann in Jan 2026.
- Who is Amazon Games biggest competitor?
- Microsoft Xbox Game Studios and Sony PlayStation dominate the AAA and cloud gaming space Amazon has failed to break into. Amazon Games GM Jeff Gattis, an ex Xbox veteran, said in a July 10, 2026 interview the unit won't be the next Xbox.
- Could AI replace Amazon Games developers?
- Amazon used generative AI for early exploration content on Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis in 2025 and 2026 and cited AI in Nov 2025 San Diego cuts, but an internal project to reinvent the game around generative AI was cancelled, per Polygon, June 18, 2026.
- Is New World a hit game for Amazon?
- No. New World: Aeternum peaked near 913,634 concurrent Steam players but fell to roughly 400 to 500 daily concurrent by 2025 to 2026 before Amazon delisted it on Jan 15, 2026 and scheduled shutdown for Jan 31, 2027.
- What is Amazon Luna and does it compete with Xbox Game Pass?
- Luna, rebranded from Prime Gaming on Oct 1, 2025, is bundled with Amazon Prime and Amazon claims it has over 50 games and is possibly the largest paid gaming subscription worldwide, though no independent subscriber numbers have been verified as of mid 2026.
Timeline
- 2026-07-10GM Jeff Gattis consolidates Luna, Amazon Game Studios, AWS gaming; says won't be next Xbox
- 2026-06-02Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis delayed to Feb 12, 2027, also confirmed for Switch 2
- 2026-04-10Luna removes previously purchased games and third party subscriptions, no refunds
- 2026-04Amazon acquires James Bond 007 First Light IP via Delphi Interactive through MGM
- 2026-02King of Meat reported dead months after Oct 2025 launch
- 2026-01-29Amazon Games studio head Christoph Hartmann departs, reportedly to Ubisoft
- 2026-01-15New World: Aeternum delisted from all storefronts, shutdown set for Jan 31, 2027
- 2025-12-15Amazon sells March of Giants MOBA and Montreal team to Ubisoft
- 2025-11-24145 San Diego software developer jobs cut via WARN notice tied to gaming division
- 2025-10-28Significant cuts to Irvine and San Diego studios, New World dev team largely eliminated
Revision history
23 July 2026
First assessed. Little protection left. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Amazon MMO New World delisted, going offline in 2027 (2026-01-15)
- Games published by Amazon Game Studios on Steam · SteamDB
- Lost Ark players Steam 2025 (2025-08-05)
- Throne and Liberty (2026-04-21)
- Amazon says it wants to win gaming, but won't be the next Xbox (2026-06-18)
- Irvine gaming team spared latest Amazon layoffs (2023-04-04)
- Amazon Makes 'Significant' Cuts In Video-Game Division (2025-10-28)
- Amazon is shedding software developer jobs in San Diego (2025-11-24)
- Amazon Games boss Hartmann reportedly leaving (2026-01-29)
- Amazon Sells March of Giants to Ubisoft (2025-12-15)
- Clarifying Amazon role in the game business (2026-07-10)
- Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is delayed to 2027 (2026-06-02)