Amazon are getting out of the MMO game, handing control of Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty to developers, but it won’t all be smooth for players
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Amazon Games is transferring operation of Lost Ark’s Western servers to its developer Smilegate in early 2027, while Throne and Liberty will pass to FirstSpark Games by the end of 2026. Both games are expected to remain online, but the changes will disrupt some players, particularly Lost Ark users whose subscriptions and portions of their account history will not transfer. The handovers underline Amazon’s wider retreat from MMO development and publishing following the end of New World development and cancellation of its Lord of the Rings MMO.
Lost Ark characters, progression, inventory, entitlements and wallet balances are due to carry over, but chat histories, in-game mail, friends-list notes and group names will be lost. Active subscriptions will be cancelled before the transfer; 12-month subscriptions are no longer being sold, and treatment of unused prepaid time remains under discussion. Smilegate also plans eventually to bring Korean and Western content releases closer together, while FirstSpark’s Throne and Liberty transition is expected to involve less data loss.
- Amazon transfers Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty operations to their developers.
- Lost Ark players will lose some account history and face subscription cancellation.
- Both MMOs will continue despite Amazon’s wider retreat from the genre.
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Amazon Games has published and run the Western versions of several online role-playing games, including Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty. These games are known as massively multiplayer online games, or MMOs: large numbers of people play in the same persistent online world, often over many years.
Lost Ark was made by the South Korean studio Smilegate, while Throne and Liberty was developed by FirstSpark Games, part of the Korean company NCSoft. Amazon’s role has been to operate the games for players in Europe and North America, including servers, payments, customer support and local versions of updates.
The handovers mean the original developers will take on those responsibilities in the West. For players, the important issue is whether their characters, purchases and subscriptions move over reliably, and how quickly the Western versions receive the same new content as the Korean releases.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters may argue that returning control to the original developers gives both games a clearer long-term future, with teams that have the deepest technical knowledge and the strongest incentive to sustain their communities. Smilegate’s intention to narrow the gap between Korean and Western updates could make Lost Ark’s Western service more responsive and better aligned with the game’s main development. A managed transfer, even with some disruption, may be preferable to continued uncertainty after Amazon’s retreat from MMOs.
The case against
Critics may argue that players are being asked to bear real costs for a corporate restructuring they did not choose, particularly through lost social and communication data, cancelled subscriptions and unresolved prepaid-time arrangements. Even if characters and purchases transfer, friends-list notes, group identities and mail can represent years of community-building, while any account migration creates anxiety about errors and support gaps. They may also question whether developer control alone guarantees better service, given the disruption and uncertainty during the transition.
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