Amazon Game Studios Lays Off Employees, Reportedly Cancels Unannounced Games

Amazon's game development team that's aptly named Amazon Game Studios has laid off an unconfirmed number of employees and has cancelled unannounced game projects, according to a statement from the company and other sources. Kotaku reported on the layoffs and the cancellations which took place amid a hectic week of E3 news. The two games that Amazon Game Studios is best known for now are New World and Crucible, both of which are currently in development.

Kotaku reported on these layoffs and cancellations and received information that said those affected by the situation within Amazon Game Studios would have a buffer of 60 days to seek out other employment options within the company. Severance packages will be given out after that timeframe. An individual involved with the company said that Amazon has also decided to cancel several unannounced projects, so it sounds like those cancellations won't be affecting the two in-development games that we know of.

A statement from Amazon was provided to Kotaku to confirm the details about the layoffs but did not mention anything about cancelled projects. Instead, it referenced the two games currently being worked on and "new unannounced projects" while saying that the layoffs were part of "regular business planning cycles."

"Amazon Game Studios is reorganizing some of our teams to allow us to prioritize development of New World, Crucible, and new unannounced projects we're excited to reveal in the future," an Amazon spokesperson told Kotaku. "These moves are the result of regular business planning cycles where we align resources to match evolving, long-range priorities. We're working closely with all employees affected by these changes to assist them in finding new roles within Amazon. Amazon is deeply committed to games and continues to invest heavily in Amazon Game Studios, Twitch, Twitch Prime, AWS, our retail businesses, and other areas within Amazon."

Both Crucible and New World are listed on the Amazon Game Studios site along with The Grand Tour Game, the last of which is out now. The site has options to either stay up to date on Crucible news or sign up for a chance to experience New World when it's available, a game which Amazon describes as the following:

"It takes more than soldiers to forge a nation," the Amazon Game Studios description said. "Choose your role and define your destiny as you survive the peril of a haunted wilderness. Overcome the cunning and brutality of hundreds of competing players as you forge alliances, battle to control resources and contribute your chapter to the chronicle of an emerging empire."