Amazon To Focus On Delivering Free Games, Plans To Slash 'Just Over' 180 Jobs

Amazon Inc. AMZN has revealed its intention to shift focus towards delivering free games through Prime Gaming, which made way for changes like eliminating “just over” 180 jobs and shutting down the Crown Channel and Game Growth initiatives.

What Happened: Christoph Hartmann, VP of Amazon Games, sent a memo to employees, which stated that after the “initial restructuring in April,” the company has decided to allocate resources to areas with the “highest potential” to take the business forward, reported The Verge, citing the memo. 

This motive has led to the closure of two initiatives: Crown Channel and Game Growth. 

For the unversed, Crown Channel was an entertainment show on Amazon’s Twitch streaming services. It resembled a traditional television network. Meanwhile, Game Growth was a platform that helped game developers market their products. 

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In the same memo, Hartman further said what customers want most is “free games every month.” Therefore, “we are refining our Prime benefit to increase our focus there.”

However, these changes didn’t come without cost. “With these changes in our business approach come changes to our resourcing, resulting in the elimination of just over 180 roles,” Hartman stated in the memo.  

The memo also highlighted that Amazon is focusing on upcoming publishing launches for “Throne and Liberty” and “Blue Protocol,” along with future projects like “Tomb Raider” and “The Lord of the Rings” games. 

Why It’s Important: In April earlier this year, Amazon fired 100 employees in its video-game division. At the time, Hartman said, “Our resources will be aligned to support our focus on content.”

In January earlier this year, it was reported that Amazon had started acting on its plans to lay off over 18,000 employees as the company was battling slow online sales growth and possible recession. 

Price Action: Amazon shares closed 0.68% lower at $142.59 on Monday, and in the after-hours, it was trading 0.11% higher, according to the data from Benzinga Pro.

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