Amazon lays off over 100 workers in its gaming division

Amazon’s ongoing layoffs include those directly involved in the company’s game production. The company announced that more than 100 employees were laid off in its game divisions, which include Prime Gaming, Game Growth, and Amazon Games’ San Diego studio. The tech giant is looking for ways to cut costs across the company. Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, a Seattle-based e-commerce, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence technology company, announced in early January that layoffs would exceed 18,000 people as part of a previously announced workforce reduction plan. The company, which is expected to see layoffs in cloud computing divisions such as Twitch, marketing, and Amazon Web Services, has also hit its game development departments with the wave of layoffs. The company announced in a statement that more than 100 employees were laid off in its game divisions, which include Prime Gaming, Game Growth, and Amazon Games’ San Diego studio. Those laid off will receive severance pay, health benefits, and paid leave to find new jobs. Amazon Gaming Vice President Christoph Hartmann announced that some employees were also assigned to new projects. Hartmann said the Irvine and Montreal teams will continue to grow. Amazon’s publishing efforts will also expand. Amazon’s game development efforts have not yielded the desired results. Its free-to-play shooter Crucible was only briefly public before shutting down a few months later. John Smedley, a former Sony Online Entertainment executive who led Amazon Games’ San Diego studio for six years, has announced his departure. The tech giant is looking to cut costs across the company as it grapples with a turbulent global economy and the effects of the pandemic recovery. In that context, the layoffs at the gaming platform represent a small part of a larger strategy.