Amazon is increasingly withdrawing from the MMORPG sector. Now there have been two prominent departures at Lost Ark and fans fear that the end could be near.
What are these resignations? On March 17, two prominent developers from Lost Ark announced their departure from Amazon Games. On X.com, they bid farewell and thanked their time at Amazon Games and the community.
It remains unclear whether the two resigned or were dismissed. However, this already raises major concerns among fans.
Here you can watch a trailer for Lost Ark:
Concern about an early end
What concerns do the fans have? For fans on Reddit, it seems that Amazon Games is withdrawing as a publisher from Lost Ark. Although there is no official message from the developers, the departures of the loyal staff who have been there from the beginning are obvious for the fans.
At the same time, not too long ago, the German and French languages were removed from the game, which also points to cuts at the publisher. Lost Ark is currently dying a quiet death. In the last 6 months, no more than 21,000 players have played the MMORPG simultaneously (Source: SteamDB).
Moreover, the new updates being brought in from Smilegate in Korea to the western version are barely attracting new players. Thus, the concern is spreading that Lost Ark could face an early end. However, one detail might provide reassurance.
What is this detail? The developers at Smilegate, who operate the MMORPG in Korea and are also behind the game’s gameplay, have posted a new job listing (via Smilegate.com). In it, they are looking for an MMORPG Game Operations Manager
who speaks fluent English.
According to the job listing, they are to take the lead of an MMORPG, present new updates to the community, and set the direction. These are precisely the tasks that are no longer being filled at Amazon Games.
A shift from Amazon Games as a publisher to management by Smilegate itself seems to be indicated here. This would be a logical step, as we already know from the end of New World that Amazon wants to completely withdraw from the market in the long term.
We have inquired with Amazon Games about the matter and will share their response with you as soon as it is available.
How things will continue with Lost Ark is uncertain. In the event of a takeover by Smilegate, players could at least look forward to the continuation of their characters. However, whether this will actually happen remains to be seen. Not only at Lost Ark are there departures: The head of Amazon Games is leaving the company, having been the face of MMORPGs
