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Amazon Further Abandons Gaming, Dropping MMOs Lost Ark & Throne And Liberty
Amazon Game Studios will stop publishing the online games Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty, continuing its retreat from game development and publishing. The handovers are intended to preserve players’ existing accounts and progress, but they mark another reduction in Amazon’s once-ambitious role in the MMO market.
Throne and Liberty will move to FirstSpark Games and NC in the fourth quarter of 2026, while Lost Ark’s western publishing will transfer to developer Smilegate in early 2027. Lost Ark players will keep progression and several named assets, but will lose some social and messaging data; players of both games may opt out of transferring their data. Amazon has recently ended or withdrawn support for several other games and is now chiefly committed to forthcoming Tomb Raider titles and Luna party games.
In short
- Amazon will cease publishing Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty.
- New publishers will take over, with optional data-transfer opt-outs.
- The moves deepen Amazon’s wider withdrawal from gaming.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Amazon's decision reflects prudent business management in a highly competitive gaming market where both Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty have failed to generate sustained profitable revenue. By transferring these games to Smilegate and NC—publishers with deeper expertise in these titles—Amazon ensures continuity for players whilst freeing capital for more promising ventures like Tomb Raider.
The case against
This retreat exemplifies Amazon's chronic inability to execute in gaming despite massive investment, repeatedly disappointing player communities and damaging its publisher reputation. Whilst handovers ostensibly protect accounts, transitioning games to new publishers inevitably disrupts service and experience, and this pattern signals to consumers that Amazon gaming commitments are unreliable.
Explained simply
Amazon entered the massively multiplayer online game market by publishing games that bring large numbers of players together in persistent online worlds. Lost Ark is an action role-playing game developed by South Korea’s Smilegate, while Throne and Liberty was developed by South Korea’s NC. Amazon handled their release and support in western markets.
Publishing a game involves managing its services for players, including accounts, updates and communication. When a publisher steps away, another company may take over those responsibilities, and players’ progress or data can be affected. Amazon’s role in these two games is part of a broader effort to scale back its gaming business.
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