NEWS
by Dan Lenois
Amazon Games Discontinues Creator Program
The surprise implosion of Amazon Games has sent shock waves through the gaming industry this past week, with the abandonment of New World, Amazon Games' most successful title to date, as well as the cancellation of the long-awaited Lord of the Rings MMORPG. However, the bad news doesn't end there.
With the majority of their upcoming games now cancelled outright, Amazon has accordingly made the decision to formally announced the imminent sunsetting of the Amazon Games Creator Program. Amazon would declare, in a public statement e-mailed to all partnered content creators:
"We want to inform you about an important change to our Creator Program. Effective today, the current Creator Program as you know it is winding down. We value your participation and contributions you've made to our communities across New World, Lost Ark, Throne and Liberty, and King of Meat. While this program is concluding, we are exploring exciting possibilities, so please be sure to sign up for Amazon Games iD to stay connected and be among the first to know about any updates or new opportunities."
Through the Amazon Games Creator Program, content creators received various perks, including "Giveaway codes, exclusive partner swag, social media promotion, and access to special events."
Partnered creators also had access to the official Discord group for the program, where creators were invited to share ideas and feedback, discuss patch changes, and otherwise contribute to ongoing game-related discussions. This Discord has since been wiped of nearly all contents, with member permissions restricted to read-only capacity.
With the dissolvement of its internal Creator Program, and the overall force reduction within its gaming and steaming division, it will be interesting to see how Amazon approaches the virtual marketing of its forthcoming titles, particularly the currently-unnamed Tomb Raider title currently being developed by Crystal Dynamics.
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