2024 is done and dusted, and what a year it was. Amazon Games launched two games, unveiled two more upcoming titles, delivered a bounty of new content for existing titles, expanded its worldwide studio footprint, delivered a ton of value to Prime Members through Prime Gaming, and much more.
THRONE AND LIBERTY and New World: Aeternum launched to players around the world on console and PC
In early October, Amazon Games and NCSOFT welcomed players to the vast, open world of Solisium in THRONE AND LIBERTY on PC via Steam, PlayStation®5, and Xbox Series X|S. In its first week, more than 3 million registered players answered the call to reclaim Solisium in the free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).
Check out this feature for more detail on the considerable ways in which the game has evolved since its Korean launch.
Also in October, Amazon Games welcomed players around the world to the highly anticipated online action RPG New World: Aeternum, now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. For the first time ever, both console and PC players can venture forth onto the supernatural island of Aeternum and experience a wild journey filled with danger and opportunity solo or with other adventurers through cross-platform, cooperative online play. The team has been thrilled to see the response from new and returning players.
In addition, New World: Aeternum got its own, dedicated episode in the Amazon original series and adult animation anthology Secret Level on Prime Video. Read more about that episode in this interview with Tim Miller, co-founder of Blur Studio, the visual effects studio behind the show, along with New World: Aeternum’s narrative director, Rob Chestney.
Amazon Games unveiled King of Meat from Glowmade and an upcoming, narrative-led driving game from Maverick Games
In August, during Gamescom Opening Night Live, Amazon Games and Glowmade unveiled King of Meat, a hacking, slashing, co-op combat spectacle filled with the raucous and ridiculous. Set in the mystical world of Loregok, King of Meat takes players to a place of dragons, trolls, skeletons, and, of course, corporate commercialism — where high fantasy meets the glitz, glamor, and media infatuation of modern-day celebrity.
King of Meat is the fever dream of the team at Glowmade, founded by Jonny Hopper (LittleBigPlanet), Mike Green (Fable), and Adam Sibbick (Fable). Earlier this year, we sat down with Glowmade’s co-founders to learn more about what inspired them to conjure up this weird and wonderful world.
King of Meat, a one-through-four player hacking, slashing, co-op combat game with user-generated content (UGC) dungeon building, will be available for purchase digitally, launching on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, and Nintendo Switch. Stay tuned for updates in 2025.
In May, Amazon Games announced that it has partnered with Maverick Games to publish a new AAA multi-platform title. The unannounced game will be a narrative-led, open-world driving game for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Maverick Games was founded in 2022 by key talent behind the critically acclaimed open-world racing game series Forza Horizon, including studio head and creative director Mike Brown, former creative director of the Forza Horizon franchise at Playground Games.
Jamie Brittain, co-creator of the BAFTA award-winning British TV show Skins, is the lead writer on the game, working alongside Maverick Games' core leadership team, including executive producer Tom Butcher (Forza Horizon, F1 All-Stars), CTO Matt Craven (Forza Horizon, GRID, DIRT), content director Gareth Harwood (Forza Horizon, Fable), audio director Fraser Strachan (Forza Horizon), art director Ben Penrose (Forza Horizon, Fable), and Visual Design Director Elly Marshall (Forza Horizon 3, Just Cause 3, DIRT).
Check out this interview with Mike Brown, who shares more insight into the studio’s vision for its upcoming game.
King of Meat and the new Maverick Games title join an expanding portfolio of upcoming projects, including the next entry from the Tomb Raider franchise, a game based on Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings literary works, an unannounced project from the Amazon Games San Diego studio, and an as-yet-untitled MOBA from its Montreal studio.
Ongoing New Content and Updates for New World, Lost Ark, and THRONE AND LIBERTY
In addition to game launches and unveils, 2024 saw continued support for existing titles with new content, events and more.
In 2024, Lost Ark celebrated its second anniversary and many more adventures for players. Every month, the Heroes of Arkesia enjoyed significant content updates, plus new quests, raids, islands, and events, and the introduction of a new Breaker Advanced Class. Whether it was a first trip to Buzzing Island, exploring the Underwater Cave dungeon, the Thaemine Legion Raid, or the Kazeros Raid: Act 2 Prologue Quest, Arkesia evolved, grew, and offered increasingly more thrills and adventure throughout the year. And so much more is coming in 2025. Check out Part One of the Lost Ark 2025 Content Roadmap.
New World celebrated its third anniversary in September ahead of the launch of New World: Aeternum, and was also featured in a dedicated episode of the new Prime Video Series Secret Level. With the release of New World: Aeternum, both new and returning players enjoyed exciting seasonal content, including Nightveil Hallow, Turkulon, and the Winter Convergence Festival. New World: Aeternum also introduced its first-ever 10-player raid, The Hive of Gorgons. Finally, the development team delivered an exciting update on the future of Aeternum, introducing a new “Living Roadmap” and announcing what players can expect from Season 7, “Season of Conquerors”.
THRONE AND LIBERTY also welcomed exciting new content with The Call of the Spear update, a Haunted Harvest seasonal event, and the addition of epic warfare in Castle Siege Events, among other updates.
Amazon Games expands international footprint with new studio in Bucharest, Romania
In May, Amazon Games announced the opening of its new studio in Bucharest, Romania. The Bucharest studio joins the ranks of Amazon Games teams and studios in Orange County, Montreal, San Diego, and Seattle. The new studio focuses on supporting the diverse portfolio of Amazon Games titles now and in the future.
The Bucharest studio is led by industry veteran Cristian Pana, who brings more than 20 years of experience building video games, most recently serving as managing director at Ubisoft Bucharest. Cristian’s experience spans some of video games’ biggest games and franchises, including Tom Clancy’s The Division, The Crew, Far Cry, and Avatar and diverse genres, from driving games, action-adventure open world games to shooter RPGs. To learn more, check out this interview with Cristian, where he explores his philosophy towards game development, and why he’s excited to join the Amazon Games team.
Prime Gaming delivered even more incredible value to Prime members in 2024
Amazon Prime members once again enjoyed a varied selection of fantastic new games each month thanks to Prime Gaming. This year, members got the opportunity to claim AAA blockbusters such as Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, BioShock Remastered, and DOOM Eternal, along with popular indie titles such as Death’s Door, The Gunk, and The Falconeer. Wherever Amazon Luna is available, Prime members also got the opportunity to play a rotating selection of monthly titles, including Saints Row®: The Third, Alien: Isolation, and Control: Ultimate Edition. That’s not to mention ongoing access to several titles via Amazon Luna for Prime members, such as Fortnite, Trackmania, Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition, and more!
Beyond the regular monthly content updates that Prime members have come to expect from Prime Gaming, we also celebrated the premieres of several Prime Video series with associated, bonus Prime Gaming content. Ahead of the premiere of the popular Prime Video original series Fallout, Prime members gained access to several Fallout titles. Similarly, members could play several great games from The Lord of the Rings franchise in celebration of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2. And most recently, we offered several great games and retail discounts associated with franchises featured in the animated video game anthology series Secret Level.
Follow Prime Gaming on the official Prime Gaming blog, X, Facebook, and Instagram to stay up to date on all the latest offers.
Amazon Games team members participated at several industry events and shared their vision for the future of the business
In addition to our growing slate of new and upcoming titles, in 2024 Amazon Games participated in several key industry events, including D.I.C.E. Summit, GDC, GamesBeat Summit, D.I.C.E. Europe, and more. Here are a couple of the highlights.
In March at GDC, the New World community team, including Scot Lane, game director of New World, and Brian Willitts, Head of Community, and others, took to the Core Concepts stage to share their best practices and key learnings for engaging with players in the talk - The Power of Community Feedback to Create Better Games.
In September, Laura Naviaux Sturr, GM Operations at Amazon Games, joined a diverse group of entertainment industry leaders for the panel discussion, “Convergence - Driving Value Across Different Mediums,” as part of the Financial Times’ Business of Entertainment Summit in Los Angeles. With games a core pillar of entertainment convergence, Laura was joined on stage by Bill Kramer, CEO, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Will McIntosh, President, Fandango & NBC Sports Next, and Daniel Hong, Partner, Bain & Company. The panel was moderated by Christopher Grimes, Los Angeles Bureau Chief, Financial Times.
In October, Stanley Pierre-Louis, President and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association, and Laura Naviaux Sturr kicked off the 2024 GamesBeat NEXT conference in San Francisco with the fireside chat “Finding New Growth Vectors: Extending IP to Reach New Audiences.”
Plus, in feature interviews with Forbes, Rolling Stone, and Variety, Christoph Hartmann, VP of Amazon Games, shared insights about Amazon’s steadfast commitment to video games, his long-term vision for the growth of Amazon Games and his ambition to establish it as one of the industry’s top publishers, and much more.
With 2024 now in the rearview, in the year ahead, Amazon Games looks forward to continuing to move ahead in our mission to develop, publish, and nurture the best in entertainment for you again this year and beyond.
