As the gaming industry continues to be hit with layoffs at studios both big and small, one of the biggest companies in the world is laying off employees in its games division. Amazon Games is laying off 180 employees, as announced in an internal email.
Word of layoffs at Amazon first spread thanks to a report from Aftermath. Included in the layoffs are the entirety of the Crown Channel on Twitch, which previously hosted live events with various popular streamers. Aftermath obtained the full email provided to employees, written by Christoph Hartmann, VP of Amazon Games.
The report also states that Amazon is looking to put increased efforts into Prime Gaming. It’s unfortunately just the latest in what has been a year filled with industries at some of the gaming industry’s biggest companies. Most recently, we saw Epic Games and Bungie lay off large chunks of their respective workforces.
Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_