After New World and Lost Ark, Amazon grabs the next big IP with Tomb Raider. Two more MMORPGs are also on the starting blocks at the company. The marketing manager of Amazon Game Studios has now revealed in an interview how it will proceed afterwards.
Where do the insights come from? The website Venturebeat had an interview with Sarah Anderson, who is the marketing manager of Amazon Games and spoke about the future of the gaming division there. Anderson has held the position for 3.5 years, but according to her own statements, she has been in the industry for around 30 years in total.
The interview is generally about Amazon Games, its previous successes, and the future of the studio. Much emphasis is placed on the economic aspects. However, there were also some exciting insights about new games and how ongoing games will continue.
What happens to the ongoing titles? Sarah Anderson hardly touches on Lost Ark in the interview. She merely talks about the successful launch of the MMORPG and promises that they will continue to work on it. Here, she mainly focuses on the localization work that they prioritize for Lost Ark.
Amazon sees Lost Ark as an investment in a long-term brand. She says similar things about the ongoing New World but becomes more specific here. Anderson is pleased that despite the rocky start, with many updates and support, New World has managed to catapult itself back into the top 10 on Steam.
She promises players that they will continue to work passionately on New World and invest further in the game. Here too, Anderson speaks of a long-term franchise for Amazon and assures: “We have big plans for the game.”
Transmedia in the Focus of Amazon Games – Is a movie about New World coming?
What is Transmedia? Anderson explains the term mainly with the opportunities that Amazon as a company has available. As an example, she mentions the plans that Amazon has with Crystal Dynamics and their brand “Tomb Raider”. Amazon is getting involved as a publisher and wants to bring not only new games but also a series about the video game heroine.
This form of marketing, for example, as a game and at the same time as a movie or series with Prime Video, is referred to here by Anderson as Transmedia.
Is a New World movie coming? Of course, there is no exact statement regarding this. But based on Anderson’s statements, it would actually be conceivable. She literally says: “You can implement great things with the power of Amazon. We have Prime Video and all these things that we can do with it. In addition, there are the tech services from AWS [Amazon Web Services] and Twitch as well as Prime Gaming. There are many means with which one can work here to connect players and build communities around the games.”
Blue Protocol, Throne and Liberty, Tomb Raider – and 5 more games
How will it continue in the future? In the near future, two major MMORPGs, Blue Protocol and Throne and Liberty, are on the horizon, which Amazon represents as a publisher in the West. AGS is also responsible for localization here and not for the programming of the game itself.
A similar deal exists with Tomb Raider from Crystal Dynamics. Additionally, Amazon has partnered with Disruptive Studios and Glowmade, who are also working on a game that Amazon will publish. However, there are no details yet.
However, Amazon also remains active. Anderson reveals that the studio in Montreal and San Diego are also working on an undisclosed project each. The AGS offices in Irvine and Orange County are also working on a new project.
In the long term, we can therefore look forward to at least 8 new games being developed or launching in the West under Amazon.
What is happening with Amazon itself? The marketing manager also reveals that Amazon Games wants to continue to grow. They want to leverage the current momentum to bring in more talent and further optimize the studio.
However, they want to slow down in terms of speed: “We will continue to grow. Not at the speed we have grown so far, but we still have projects to prepare. And we are doing our best to organize our teams around these projects.”
What do you think of Amazon’s plans? Feel free to let us know in the comments here at MeinMMO.
