Amazon is exiting the MMO space, handing off live operations of Throne and Liberty and Lost Ark to other companies and discontinuing New World: Aeternum, shifting its gaming focus to Luna cloud gaming and other projects.
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Amazon is fully stepping back from MMOs. After saying <a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/808332/amazon-gaming-layoffs-mmo-aaa-first-party-games">last year</a> that it would be halting "a significant amount" of its work on first-party AAA games, "specifically around MMOs," Amazon will be handing over live operations of <a href="https://www.playthroneandliberty.com/en-us/news/articles/throne-and-liberty-in-the-west"><em>Throne and Liberty</em></a> and <a href="https://www.playlostark.com/en-us/news/articles/lost-ark-in-the-west"><em>Lost Ark</em></a> in the West to other companies, according to announcements on Wednesday. <em>Throne and Liberty</em> will be taken over by FirstSpark Games and NC in Q4 2026. <em>Lost Ark</em> will be run by Smilegate starting in early 2027.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">When Amazon announced the broader strategy shift in October, the developers of a third MMO, <em>New World: Aeternum</em>, announced plans to stop offering new content updates. As of January, y …</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/979070/amazon-mmo-throne-and-liberty-lost-ark-live-operations">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>
# Amazon gets out of the MMO game
Source: [https://www.theverge.com/tech/979070/amazon-mmo-throne-and-liberty-lost-ark-live-operations](https://www.theverge.com/tech/979070/amazon-mmo-throne-and-liberty-lost-ark-live-operations)
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Soon, Amazon won’t be involved with Throne and Liberty and Lost Ark\.
Soon, Amazon won’t be involved with Throne and Liberty and Lost Ark\.
by
Aug 12, 2026, 4:46 PM UTC
Image: Amazon Game Studios
[](https://www.theverge.com/authors/jay-peters)
Jay Peters
is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more\. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme\.
Amazon is fully stepping back from MMOs\. After saying[last year](https://www.theverge.com/news/808332/amazon-gaming-layoffs-mmo-aaa-first-party-games)that it would be halting “a significant amount” of its work on first\-party AAA games, “specifically around MMOs,” Amazon will be handing over live operations of[*Throne and Liberty*](https://www.playthroneandliberty.com/en-us/news/articles/throne-and-liberty-in-the-west)and[*Lost Ark*](https://www.playlostark.com/en-us/news/articles/lost-ark-in-the-west)in the West to other companies, according to announcements on Wednesday\.*Throne and Liberty*will be taken over by FirstSpark Games and NC in Q4 2026\.*Lost Ark*will be run by Smilegate starting in early 2027\.
When Amazon announced the broader strategy shift in October, the developers of a third MMO,*New World: Aeternum*, announced plans to stop offering new content updates\. As of January, you can’t buy that game anymore, and it will be taken offline[on January 31st, 2027](https://www.newworld.com/en-us/news/articles/the-future-of-new-world-aeternum-what-to-expect)\.
Amazon’s current gaming strategy focuses more on its Luna cloud gaming service, party games you can play on a TV with your phone \(including ones with AI\-powered[Snoop Dogg](https://www.theverge.com/news/789658/amazon-luna-cloud-relaunch-gamenight-social-gaming)and[Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://www.theverge.com/games/953618/amazons-next-ai-powered-courtroom-game-stars-arnold-schwarzenegger)characters\), and games that tie into other franchises Amazon is working on, like[James Bond](https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/937984/007-first-light-review-james-bond-ps5-xbox)and[*Tomb Raider*](https://www.theverge.com/news/856476/the-tomb-has-all-its-raiders)\. Amazon’s gaming boss spelled it all out for me in a[recent interview](https://www.theverge.com/games/943147/amazon-gaming-strategy-james-bond-snoop-dogg-luna)\.
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- Jay Peters
## The Verge Daily
A free daily digest of the news that matters most\.
Amazon is restructuring its gaming strategy under new GM Jeff Gattis, consolidating Prime Gaming, Amazon Game Studios, and Luna into one organization, with a renewed focus on casual cloud-based party games (including an AI-powered Snoop Dogg game) while also developing Tomb Raider titles for 2027.
Amazon integrates its Luna cloud gaming service directly into Prime Video on Fire TV devices, allowing users in the US and UK to stream games like Fallout 4 and Hogwarts Legacy without separate setup, aiming to attract casual viewers rather than core gamers.
Netflix is shutting down two game studios, Night School Studio and Moonloot Games, as it pivots toward TV-based party games and other priorities, with additional role cuts in its games business.
Amazon is gutting its in-house AI division, putting most Nova models on maintenance-only support and redirecting resources toward a frontier-model effort led by Pieter Abbeel, following disappointing performance and strategic setbacks.