Amazon Studio Head Steps Down

Hires

29 January 2026 06:24

TL;DR

Hartmann exits Amazon Games VP role.
Shift favors Luna over PC/console titles.
New World MMO shuts down 2027.

Amazon's pullback from traditional gaming keeps rolling. Bloomberg's Jason Schreier just broke the news that Christoph Hartmann, the vice president at Amazon Games, is heading out after about eight years with the company.

Hartmann hasn't said a word publicly about it so far. Since taking the reins in 2018, he's overseen releases like Crucible, Lost Ark, New World, King of Meat, and a few others.

New World is slated to go dark for good at the end of January 2027. Right now, the team has two Tomb Raider projects cooking, plus some unannounced stuff.

Schreier notes that Hartmann's departure lines up with Amazon's ongoing retreat from the PC and console video-game space in favor of its cloud gaming service Luna. At Amazon, it's been a rough ride with some flops like Crucible shutting down quick and New World struggling to hold players. Still, Lost Ark did okay as a publishing deal.

Recent Shakeups in Amazon Games Division

Amazon's gaming arm has been through the wringer lately, with cuts, cancellations, and a clear strategic pivot.

Here's the rundown on what's been happening:

Mass Layoffs Hit Hard: In October 2025, Amazon slashed 14,000 corporate jobs, including big hits to its games division. They halted most first-party AAA MMO development and shifted focus to lighter party games and Luna. Then, just this month in January 2026, another 16,000 roles got axed company-wide, with games likely feeling the pain again.

New World Winds Down: The MMO got delisted from stores on January 15, 2026. No new content is coming, just bug fixes until the full shutdown on January 31, 2027. Players who own it can keep going until then.

King of Meat Fizzles: Glowmade's early access launch tanked, peaking at just 320 players on Steam when they hoped for 100k. The studio announced layoffs starting January 2026.

More:Blizzard Showcase to Feature Overwatch 2

Tags: Amazon

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Amazon Studio Head Steps Down

Hires

29 January 2026 06:24

Tags: Amazon

TL;DR

Hartmann exits Amazon Games VP role.
Shift favors Luna over PC/console titles.
New World MMO shuts down 2027.

Amazon's pullback from traditional gaming keeps rolling. Bloomberg's Jason Schreier just broke the news that Christoph Hartmann, the vice president at Amazon Games, is heading out after about eight years with the company.

Hartmann hasn't said a word publicly about it so far. Since taking the reins in 2018, he's overseen releases like Crucible, Lost Ark, New World, King of Meat, and a few others.

New World is slated to go dark for good at the end of January 2027. Right now, the team has two Tomb Raider projects cooking, plus some unannounced stuff.

Schreier notes that Hartmann's departure lines up with Amazon's ongoing retreat from the PC and console video-game space in favor of its cloud gaming service Luna. At Amazon, it's been a rough ride with some flops like Crucible shutting down quick and New World struggling to hold players. Still, Lost Ark did okay as a publishing deal.

Recent Shakeups in Amazon Games Division

Amazon's gaming arm has been through the wringer lately, with cuts, cancellations, and a clear strategic pivot.

Here's the rundown on what's been happening:

Mass Layoffs Hit Hard: In October 2025, Amazon slashed 14,000 corporate jobs, including big hits to its games division. They halted most first-party AAA MMO development and shifted focus to lighter party games and Luna. Then, just this month in January 2026, another 16,000 roles got axed company-wide, with games likely feeling the pain again.

New World Winds Down: The MMO got delisted from stores on January 15, 2026. No new content is coming, just bug fixes until the full shutdown on January 31, 2027. Players who own it can keep going until then.

King of Meat Fizzles: Glowmade's early access launch tanked, peaking at just 320 players on Steam when they hoped for 100k. The studio announced layoffs starting January 2026.

More:Blizzard Showcase to Feature Overwatch 2

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