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Amazon is laying off more than 14,000 corporate jobs today, and per a report from Bloomberg, the video games division, Amazon Game Studios, is not immune to the cuts. While Amazon doesn't specify exactly how many people from its video games division will be laid off, a statement from Steve Boom, Amazon's head of audio, Twitch, and games, does call the cut "significant," and says that the cuts are happening despite Amazon being "proud" of the success it has had. While the studio's MMO, New World, isn't mentioned by name, the statement does say that Amazon is halting its game development work "specifically around MMOs." "While we're proud of our successes in first-party AAA game development and publishing," the statement reads, "we have made the difficult decision to halt a significant amount of our first-party AAA game development work - specifically around MMOs - within Amazon Game Studios, including making significant role reductions in or studios in Irvine and San Diego, as well as our central publishing team." A report from The Verge adds that the driving force behind these cuts comes from Amazon pushing further into AI, with senior executive Beth Galetti writing in a memo to staff, "The reductions we’re sharing today are a continuation of this work to get even stronger by further reducing bureaucracy, removing layers, and shifting resources to ensure we’re investing in our biggest bets and what matters most to our customers’ current and future needs." "Some may ask why we’re reducing roles when the company is performing well. This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet, and it’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before (in existing market segments and altogether new ones). We’re convicted that we need to be organized more leanly." While Amazon calls out MMOs as the genre it is specifically halting work in, it's unclear if the company will move forward in other areas of game development and publishing. Or, this could be the first major sign that Amazon is getting out of games entirely, and will stick to producing TV and film adaptations of video game properties, like its highly popular Fallout series and upcoming series adaptations of Wolfenstein and Mass Effect.
