Amazon Game Studios
As Bloomberg reported on Friday, March 25, Mike Frazzini told his staff that he would be leaving the studio he helped create to focus on his family. Mike was present at the start of Amazon Game Studios, and his leadership and persistence helped build the gaming business from the ground up. Amazon spokesperson Ryan Jones added that recent successes with New World and Lost Ark are a result of the vision Frazzini helped create.Despite New World and Lost Ark being Welcomed by many, Amazon Game Studios hasn't had an easy time in the developer world. From 2019's The Grand Tour Game to 2020's Crucible, the studio's games have had disastrous releases. Furthermore, two other projects, known as Intensity and Nova, inspired respectively by Fortnite and League of Legends, have never seen the light. Amazon's video games section cost the company about $ 500 million a year.
A former manager of Amazon Game Studios spoke to Bloomberg and said Frazzini's lack of experience was detrimental to the company. Amazon's policy is based on the belief that those who are successful in one area will have no difficulty in replicating in other contexts as well. However, it seems that in this case the choice of the American company did not pay off.
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Amazon Game Studios’ boss has stepped down
The boss of Amazon Game Studios, Mike Frazzini, has stepped down from the development division he helped create.
According to a statement issued to Bloomberg, the executive is leaving to focus on his family.
“Mike was there at the beginning of Amazon Games, and his leadership and perseverance helped build the games business from the ground up,” the company said in a statement.
“Our recent successes with New World and Lost Ark are the result of the long-term, customer-focused vision for games he helped establish. We are very grateful for all his contributions, and wish Mike the very best.”
New World: Launch TrailerDuring Frazzini’s tenure, Amazon’s games business struggled to create a breakout hit, despite reportedly investing hundreds of millions into development.
Development of the company’s team-based shooter Crucible officially ceased in October 2020, just five months after the game’s launch, following its struggle to attract a significant player base.
More recently Amazon cancelled a Lord of the Rings MMO, reportedly because of a dispute with Tencent, the parent company of the title’s co-developer Athlon Games.
The company finally found success with MMO New World late last year, with the title attracting Steam’s fifth highest ever concurrent players figure at the time of launch.
According to Bloomberg, some staff had criticised Mike Frazzini due to his lack of experience running a game studio. The executive had transferred from Amazon’s books division.
One former Amazon Game Studios manager reportedly said that Frazzini’s leadership suffered because he had not had prior experience in gaming. Amazon is a company that often assumes that if you can succeed in one category, you can succeed in another, they said.
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