Following Jeff Bezos's departure, Andy Jassy, Amazon's incoming CEO, has emailed employees reaffirming the company's commitment to succeeding in the video game industry. This comes following a scathing report that noted Amazon's messy internal structure for game development and lackluster results. Recently, in more sweeping Amazon news, outgoing CEO Jeff Bezos announced he's stepping down from his position.
Bezos will remain at Amazon but will also be focusing on other business endeavors, such as Blue Origin and The Washington Post. Bezos will officially step down this summer and Jassy will take over. Jassy is the current head of Amazon's cloud computing division and is already promising a lot for the future of the tech giant. The current CEO is the one who ordered the creation of Amazon Game Studios almost a decade ago and has poured billions into the company with lackluster results.
In an internal email obtained by Bloomberg, Jassy acknowledged the Amazon Game Studios report and promised changes. The executive reportedly downplayed the claims therein, saying some things were exaggerated but noted that improvement was necessary. “Some businesses take off in the first year, and others take many years,” wrote Jassy. “Though we haven’t consistently succeeded yet in AGS, I believe we will if we hang in there.” Jassy also expressed support for Mike Frazzini, Amazon Game Studios' current leader, who was the subject of scrutiny in the initial Bloomberg report. “Being successful right away is obviously less stressful, but when it takes longer, it’s often sweeter,” Jassy wrote in the email, affirming, “I believe this team will get there if we stay focused on what matters most.”
Many of the issues stemmed from Frazzini's inexperience in game development prior to the start of his Amazon Game Studios tenure, as well as an alleged "bro culture" that dominated the work environment he led. Frazzini also owned up to some of the complaints in the report, stating that there's work to be done but that it will take time. “We’ve learned and improved a lot along the way, myself included, and we will continue to do so,” Frazzini wrote in an email. “Making great games is hard, and we’re not going to get everything right.”
Amazon has had a troubled history with an in-house engine that barely works, projects getting canceled or support pulled, and, allegedly, poor leadership. Last year, Amazon Game Studios pulled the plug on a hero shooter called Crucible after releasing it and then pulling it back into beta following a poor critical response and low player counts. This all happened over the course of a few months, and it was a bad first look for the rookie developer. The studio is currently working on an MMO called New World and a Lord of the Rings game that will tie-in with the new Amazon series. It remains to be seen what will be done to ensure these projects and future ones go smoother than the last ones.
Next: Why Amazon Canceled Crucible (& What's Next)
Source: Bloomberg
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