Amazon's Great Gaming Retreat: One Studio Escapes the 'Gutting' and Lands with Ubisoft
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Amazon has sold its Amazon Games Montreal studio and the MOBA *March of Giants* to Ubisoft, following a significant 'gutting' of its own video game division. Ubisoft, keen to expand in the booming MOBA market, sees *March of Giants* as an innovative new title and welcomes back former Ubisoft talent in the deal.
Right, so apparently Amazon decided its grand adventure into AAA gaming was less 'epic quest' and more 'accidental teleportation into a lava pit,' because they’ve been doing a fair bit of reorganising, or as Bloomberg so eloquently put it, 'gutting.' And now, in a move that feels a bit like a wizard selling off a dusty, slightly sparking artefact from the back of their workshop, Amazon has offloaded one of its studios, Amazon Games Montreal, straight into Ubisoft’s waiting arms. And with it, a promising-sounding MOBA called *March of Giants*.
Now, if you've been following Amazon's gaming escapades – and honestly, who hasn't been curious about what a trillion-dollar company does when it tries to make games? – you’d know it hasn’t exactly been a smooth ride. Remember that feeling when you try to cast a powerful spell, but it backfires spectacularly, leaving you covered in glitter and minor singe marks? Yeah, Amazon’s recent history has had a bit of that vibe. We’ve seen them swing big, particularly with MMOs, only for things to get a tad... deflated. Just a few months back, in October, news broke about some pretty drastic changes, including a whopping 14,000 job cuts across the wider company. For their gaming division, this meant a significant halt to 'first-party AAA game development work,' particularly around MMOs.
Bloody hell, it sounds like a real digital bonfire, doesn't it? Reports from Steven Boom, Amazon’s VP of Audio, Twitch, and Games, indicated a massive reduction in roles in their Irvine and San Diego studios, as well as their central publishing team. And the fallout was pretty immediate: ongoing development for *New World* – their existing MMO – was apparently set to cease, and that much-hyped *Lord of the Rings* MMO? Canned. Poof. Gone like a wizard’s apprentice who forgot to pay their dues.
So, with that rather dramatic backdrop, it makes a bit more sense why one of their studios might suddenly find a new home. Enter Ubisoft, swooping in like a slightly less dramatic but equally strategic dragon, to acquire Amazon Games Montreal. And they didn't just get the studio; they also snagged the rights to *March of Giants*, the MOBA it's been cooking up. What’s even more intriguing is that this deal sees some familiar faces returning to the Ubisoft fold, including Xavier Marquis, who was the creative director for *Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege* before he popped off to Amazon in 2021. Talk about a prodigal son (or wizard) returning!
Ubisoft, bless their corporate hearts, didn’t spill the beans on the financial terms of the deal – 'not being disclosed' is the classic corporate incantation for 'we’re not telling you how many gold pieces changed hands.' But they did reveal one interesting tidbit: Amazon is committing to providing marketing support for *March of Giants* on Twitch. Now, *that* makes sense, doesn't it? Leveraging their massive streaming platform to push a new competitive title? Clever. It’s like using a magic scrying pool to broadcast your latest heroic deeds.
But why *March of Giants*? Why now, and why for Ubisoft? Well, according to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, the global MOBA market is expected to 'continue growing year over year for the rest of the decade, with total revenues roughly doubling by 2030.' That’s a pretty chunky forecast, mate. He reckons *March of Giants* is an 'innovative and differentiated project' with the potential to 'offer something new to current MOBA fans, attract new audiences, and grow into a successful live competitive game.'
Now, I’m a naturally curious sort, and 'innovative and differentiated' always makes my gently skeptical ears twitch a bit. Every studio under the sun makes similar claims, right? But the return of seasoned talent like Marquis and Alexandre Parizeau, paired with Ubisoft's deep experience in live-service titles (even if some of them have had their own wobbles), does lend a bit more weight to the claim. It’s not just a blind stab in the dark; it’s a calculated move to expand their footprint in a lucrative genre.
From a player's perspective, this is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, it's good news for the developers at Amazon Games Montreal – their project, *March of Giants*, lives on and presumably gets a fresh injection of resources and direction under Ubisoft. For those who were perhaps invested in Amazon's other cancelled projects, it's a stark reminder of how quickly corporate priorities can shift, leaving development teams and player expectations in the lurch. It also highlights the intense competition and high stakes in the AAA gaming space, where even giants like Amazon can stumble spectacularly.
Ubisoft's acquisition speaks to a broader industry trend: the relentless pursuit of 'live competitive games' and the expansion into proven, high-growth genres. They're clearly looking for their next big money-spinner, and a MOBA with a potentially innovative twist, developed by a team with a good pedigree, seems like a pretty safe bet. It’s less about pioneering unknown magical lands and more about settling in a fertile, well-trodden valley.
So, what does this mean for *March of Giants*? Will it truly bring something fresh and dynamic to players, as Guillemot hopes? Or will it become just another entry in the increasingly crowded MOBA market, struggling to carve out a niche? Only time will tell, and like any good digital wizard, I’ll be watching with keen interest, ready to see if this particular spell casts a bright future or just fizzles out. Fair dinkum, it’s going to be interesting to observe.
*Original article by Matt Wales, published on Eurogamer.net.*
Tags: Gaming Industry, Acquisitions, MOBA, Ubisoft, Amazon Games
Original article: Eurogamer