Amazon’s recent announcement of layoffs impacting 14,000 employees includes substantial reductions within its gaming division, particularly focusing on its attempts to innovate in cloud gaming through the Luna platform.

The VP of Amazon Games, Steve Boom, shared insights indicating that these layoffs are part of broader strategic shifts, indicating a movement away from massive budget allocated to first-party AAA game development, particularly around MMORPGs like New World.

Boom stated that the changes reflect extensive evaluations regarding how to deliver the best gaming experiences and leverage what Amazon does effectively. While the company has experienced successes, such as New World, it still plans to halt various development works and focus on other projects.

Boom emphasized ongoing projects including an upcoming Tomb Raider game and an open-world driving game under Maverick Games, suggesting that there’s still a commitment to ambitious game development, albeit with adjusted focus.