What you need to know
- Amazon has been developing games for many years now.
- The company even unveiled a "Lumberyard" game engine which wasn't widely adopted.
- On Thursday the company laid off "dozens of game developers" says Kotaku.
- Amazon says that the layoffs were part of a "reorganizing" effort.
E3 2019 was a blast and many developers showed off intriguing projects like 12 Minutes. However, it looks like some of them who worked for Amazon weren't so lucky. According to a report by Kotaku, the retailer giant laid off "dozens of game developers" on Thursday.
The affected game developers reached out to Kotaku. You can read an excerpt from the outlet's report below.
Amazon Game Studios, which is currently developing the online games Crucible and New World, told affected employees on Thursday morning that they would have sixty days to look for new positions within Amazon, according to one person who was laid off. At the end of that buffer period, if they fail to find employment, they will receive severance packages. Amazon also canceled some unannounced games.
Kotaku reached out to Amazon for comment and the company responded by saying that it was just "reorganizing" some of its teams. You can read the company's response below.
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. 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, Amazon Web Services, our retail businesses, and other areas within Amazon.
Hopefully, those affected will be able to find jobs inside Amazon. If not, we wish them the best of luck in future endeavors. Xbox Game Studios is hiring so maybe some of them will end up there.
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