Smilegate Steps In to Save Lost Ark Western Servers as Amazon Steps Away from MMO Publishing
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Smilegate is taking direct control of Lost Ark's western servers as Amazon exits MMO publishing, ensuring player progress carries over while bringing some data wipes and upcoming language support changes.
Smilegate is officially stepping in to take direct control of the western servers for Lost Ark, ensuring the action role-playing MMO survives after Amazon Game Studios announced it is ending its publishing and support duties by early 2027. With Smilegate already handling global operations in other regions, this transition unifies the game under its original creator. For players who have spent years building up their rosters in Arkesia, the good news is that character progression, account balances, and inventories will carry over safely to the new infrastructure.
However, shifting ownership at this scale comes with inevitable technical friction for the community. Active long-term subscriptions like Crystalline Plus have already been pulled from the store, and players will need to accept new terms of service agreements once the handover is complete. Furthermore, certain social data including friends lists, chat history, guild memos, and in-game mail will be wiped during the migration. Players are advised to clear out their inboxes ahead of time, and the western servers will drop official Spanish language support entirely in an upcoming October update.
This shift is part of a broader corporate retreat by Amazon away from the MMO space, following the recent wind-down and layoffs surrounding New World. While publisher transitions always cause a temporary wave of anxiety for dedicated community members, the direct involvement of Smilegate guarantees that western players can keep running raids and progression loops without losing their hard-earned progress. Original reporting on this transition was detailed by Connor Makar over at Eurogamer.
Tags: Lost Ark, Smilegate, Amazon Games, MMO, PC Gaming
Original article: Eurogamer