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Amazon is severing ties with two other MMOs

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Why This Matters

Amazon's decision to cease publishing MMOs like Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty marks a strategic shift away from large-scale online game development, focusing instead on casual games and streaming services. This move impacts the Western MMO market, as responsibility for these games will transfer to other publishers, potentially affecting player experience and game continuity. It highlights the evolving landscape of the gaming industry, with major companies reassessing their investments in massive multiplayer online titles.

Key Takeaways

After announcing plans to wind down its MMO New World: Aeternum in October 2025, Amazon has shared that it'll also no longer publish MMOs Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty in the west, according to PC Gamer. While Amazon won't be publishing either game, they will continue to be available in western markets. Publishing responsibilities will now fall to NC, who will be the publisher for Throne and Liberty starting Q4 2026, and Smilegate, who will become the publisher of Lost Ark in early 2027.

Per a Throne and Liberty blog post announcing the change, most important content like characters and in-game currency should transfer over, though NC (through its subsidiary FireSpark Games) is still determining whether things like items in the game's Auction House will make the jump. In the case of Lost Ark, players will lose access to things like in-game mail and chat history, according to a blog on the game's website.

Both MMOs remaining active for existing players is a much more positive outcome than Amazon's own New World got. That game will officially be shut down on January 31, 2027. The company confirmed it had ended development on a separate Lord of the Rings MMO in May 2026. Once Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty are handed off, Amazon will officially be out of the MMO game, a business it first entered in 2016 when New World was announced.

Outside of bigger IP gambles like 007 First Light (which Amazon joined after its acquisition of the James Bond franchise) and Tomb Raider Catalyst, the company is focused on creating casual games for Luna. Amazon's streaming games subscription is now mostly pitched as one of the many benefits of Amazon Prime, and has a number of party games you can play with a smartphone.