Amazon’s games division is laying off another 180 employees
Amazon has announced plans to lay off another 180 employees from its video games division.
The company confirmed the division’s second round of cuts this year after Aftermath reported that it was closing its Crown Twitch channel and its Game Growth team as part of a larger goal of refocusing its efforts around Prime Gaming.
“We’ve listened to our customers and we know delivering free games every month is what they want most, so we are refining our Prime benefit to increase our focus there,” Amazon Games VP Christoph Hartmann said in an email to staff.
“With these changes in our business approach come changes to our resourcing, resulting in the elimination of just over 180 roles.
“I know this is difficult news and that the impact will be felt widely. It never feels good to say goodbye to colleagues. This isn’t a decision the leadership team came to quickly; it was the result of extensive considerations and road mapping for our future.
“We are proud of the work the teams have been doing, pushing into new areas with weekly content on Crown Channel, and finding more ways to help publishers reach new audiences with Game Growth,” he continued.
“But 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.”
The latest round of cuts at Amazon’s games division follow 100 announced in April, which were spread across its Game Growth group, its San Diego development studio, and Prime Gaming.
Job losses across the games industry have been widespread in 2023. Companies impacted by layoffs this year include Xbox Game Studios, Epic Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment, CD Projekt, Unity, Ubisoft, Riot Games, Blizzard, Crystal Dynamics,
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