With mass layoffs affecting people at both small studios and tech giants, Amazon is the latest company to announce job cuts. The move will affect employees in its video game division.
- Christoph Hartmann, VP of Amazon Games, told employees in an internal email (via Aftermath) that “just over 180 roles” will be eliminated.
- This includes shutting down the company’s Crown Channel on Twitch and the Game Growth proejct that provides game developers with marketing tools. As a result, Amazon will increase its focus on Prime Gaming, which provides subscribers with free games and in-game content.
- “This isn’t a decision the leadership team came to quickly; it was the result of extensive considerations and road mapping for our future,” Hartmann said, adding that “after further evaluation of our businesses, it became clear that we need focus our resources and efforts to deliver great games to players now and in the future.”
- According to the full memo obtained by The Verge, all employees affected by the job cuts will receive severance pay, outplacement services, health insurance benefits, and other support they need on an individual level.
- Hartmann noted that Amazon Games is now focused on its upcoming publishing efforts, including NCSoft’s MMORPG Throne and Liberty, Bandai Namco’s free-to-play online RPG Blue Protocol, as well as upcoming projects like Tomb Raider and The Lord of the Rings games.
Hartmann has been VP of Amazon Games since 2018. However, he is best known in the games industry as president and co-founder of 2K, the publishing subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive that owns IPs like BioShock, NBA 2K, Civilization, and Mafia.
Earlier this year, Amazon Games laid off over 100 employees across its Prime Gaming and Game Growth divisions, as well as its San Diego studio. Overall, the company has already cut over 20,000 jobs in 2023, including 18,000 people that were laid off in January.