Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy says he’s committed to Amazon’s video game development efforts, in response to a hard-hitting report from Bloomberg last week about the problems facing the team. “Some businesses take off in the first year, and others take many years,” wrote Jassy in a team email seen by Bloomberg, “Although we have not yet been consistently successful in AGS [Amazon Game Studios], I believe we will do if we continue there. “
“Having immediate success is obviously less stressful, but when it takes longer, it is usually sweeter,” continued Jassy. “I believe this team will get there if we stay focused on what is most important.”
The message comes at a critical moment for Amazon Game Studios, the video game development arm of the e-commerce giant. The decision to create the division allegedly came directly from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who recently announced that he is stepping down at the end of this year to be replaced by current Amazon Web Services chief Andy Jassy. With the company reportedly spending nearly $ 500 million a year on its still unsuccessful video game division, it is important that it has the support of the new CEO.
BloombergThe previous report by Amazon Game Studios faced a number of problems, including a studio head who has no experience in video games, an “painfully slow” internal game engine and a “brother culture” that doesn’t give women the same opportunities as men. In response to the report, studio boss Mike Frazzini reportedly sent an email to the team, saying that there is “zero tolerance” for “anything less than a totally fair and inclusive environment”. In her email this week, Jassy expressed support for Frazzini.
Despite Jassy’s support, Amazon Game Studios still faces challenges. Last year, it was released, retired and canceled, Crucible, a hero shooter who was inspired by Overwatch. Another of your support games, New world, was also postponed, while a video game adaptation of The Grand Tour was released with such bad reviews in 2019 that it was later removed from stores. AGS may have the support of Amazon’s next CEO, but it still has a long way to go if it wants to win player support.