Amazon Games head Mike Frazzini has resigned to focus on his family. However, this departure should not affect Lost Ark or New World.
Although Amazon is the leader in several markets (cloud, e-commerce), video games are not one of them. Although titles like Lost Ark and New World could be game-changers, there is still a long way to go. A road that will perhaps be facilitated by the departure of the boss of Amazon Game Studios, Mike Frazzini.
Resignation for personal reasons
As so often, the information comes from Bloomberg by Jason Schreier: Mike Frazzini, head of Amazon Game Studios, left the company to focus on his family.
He apparently didn’t spill out, but Amazon did send out this short statement:
Mike was there at the very beginning of Amazon Game, and his leadership and perseverance made it possible to create the video game branch from scratch. Our recent successes with Lost Ark and New World are the long-term, customer-focused vision he helped establish. We are very grateful for all his contributions and wish Mike the best.
Amazon Game Studios saved by Lost Ark and New World?
Behind the scenes, things are a priori different because according to Bloomberg, Frazzini would have been criticized by several people for his lack of experience in video games. Indeed, he originally ran the books arm of the giant and was transferred because Amazon seems to be on the assumption that if you can be successful in one division, you can replicate that in another. A rather strange concept…
Mike Frazzini would then have been the main cause of the failure of Amazon Game Studios all this time, and despite all the money spent. 500 million dollars a year, anyway. Despite this inexperience, the man probably ignored all the advice and had only one objective: to make games that paid big, very big, without taking into account the full picture. It is therefore not surprising to have witnessed the flop of Crucible or the cancellation of the MMO The Lord of the Rings. But the future looks brighter.
For the time being, New World is a huge hit, as is Lost Ark Early Access. The beginning of glory? Possible if Amazon Game Studios manages to get their hands on a leader who knows the job and knows where to go.
