Report: Amazon laying off 100 staff within its game divisions
Amazon has made roughly 100 layoffs within its video game divisions, including staff at Prime Gaming, Game Growth, and the company's San Diego studio.
That's according to a report from Bloomberg, which has glimpsed an internal memo sent to employees by Games VP Christoph Hartmann.
In that memo, Hartmann said the retail and media giant needed to realign its resources to "support our focus on content," and reiterated the company's plans to continue investing in its internal development efforts. "Our teams will continue to grow as our projects progress," added Hartmann.
Although the layoffs will reportedly affect workers at Amazon's San Diego studio, the team there is apparently preparing to "double down on the pre-production phase" of an unannounced project. Hartmann explained the company's Montreal studio will also continue to expand.
The news comes shortly after John Smedley, the former head of Amazon's San Diego outfit, announced he will be departing the studio.
Despite the rapid fire-changes within Amazon's video game division, the company said it intends to continue branching into the world of third-part publishing, having previously partnered with Korean studio Smilegate to publish Lost Ark in North America and Europe.
More recently, Amazon revealed it will be publishing Crystal Dynamic's next Tomb Raider title, helping to steer the project "from development all the way through publishing." It also acquired the publishing rights for NCSoft's upcoming MMO, Throne & Liberty, in February this year.
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