Here at Amazon Games, we’re focused on delivering quality content, with projects from our internal game studios, publishing agreements with some of the world’s best developers, monthly Prime Gaming deals, and more.
To that end, we’ve seen an incredibly busy last few months. It’s a quarter that brought our latest game announcement, exciting content updates for our existing games, the first media previews of our next, upcoming game, and Japanese reviews publish for yet another! On top of that, we also continued to deliver huge value to Prime Gaming members, offering them more than 50 free games along with a huge selection of in-game content for some of today’s hottest titles. See below for a synopsis of some of our key beats over the last three months!
Amazon Games and Embracer Group’s Middle-earth Enterprises announce upcoming The Lord of the Rings game
Perhaps the biggest update from Amazon Games this quarter is the news that our Orange County studio is hard at work building a new massively multiplayer online (MMO) game based on The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. In partnership with Embracer Group and Middle-earth Enterprises, the upcoming game will be an open-world MMO adventure in a persistent world set in Middle-earth, featuring the beloved stories of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings literary trilogy.
While the deal is fresh and development early, you can read more here about how the team at the Amazon Games Orange County studio—the team behind the popular MMO New World—are approaching this ambitious project. This team filled with The Lord of the Rings mega fans is incredibly excited to take its MMO chops to the next level while building the modern game that The Lord of the Rings fans dream of.
THRONE AND LIBERTY previews
In mid-June we had the privilege of taking part in Summer Game Fest, where we not only unveiled the announce trailer for THRONE AND LIBERTY, but we got to demo the game to media for the first time during Summer Game Fest Play Days. On Tuesday, June 13, we saw the first media impressions begin to publish. MMORPG.com called THRONE AND LIBERTY “one of the prettiest MMOs I’ve ever played,” and ComicBook.com said the game is “definitely a title that fans should keep an eye on in the future.” We’re very happy with the response and continue to work hard with our partners at NCSOFT to deliver an experience we hope you’ll all love.
Blue Protocol launches in Japan
Blue Protocol, the anime-inspired multiplayer online action RPG coming to the West in 2024, just launched in Japan and has been a big success so far! Blue Protocol is a free-to-play Multiplayer Online Action RPG that melds a beautiful world that makes you feel like you’re part of an anime with online gameplay that pushes the limits of multiplayer action. The game is being developed by Bandai Namco Online Inc. and Bandai Namco Studios, and will be published by Amazon Games in the West for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.
The game is off to a hot start: Since its PC launch on June 14, the total number of players in Japan has exceeded 600,000 and continues to grow. And on top of that, the number of concurrent players in the game has exceeded 200,000. Blue Protocol has reached these milestones faster than any other game in Bandai Namco Online’s history in the PC online service market for Japan.
Blue Protocol won't launch in the West until 2024, but fans won't have to wait that long to check it out. The team at Amazon Games has a closed beta planned for later this year. For more details on this, and to stay up-to-date on all Blue Protocol news, stay tuned to the official Blue Protocol website.
New World Season 1 and 2
New World players enjoyed a raft of fresh new content thanks to the April launch of Season 1 – Fellowship & Fire, which brought new Seasonal Quests and the Empyrean Forge Expedition. Additionally, Season 1 saw the introduction of a Season Pass, enabling players to earn a variety of cosmetics, in-game gear, and more simply for playing the game.
More recently, we launched Season 2 – Blood of the Sands content. Blood of the Sands brings new story content, a new Season Journey, new Activity Card, new Challenges, new rewards, a new 3v3 Arenas map, Elite Trial, Seasonal Trial and much more.
For full details on current and upcoming New World content, head on over to the official New World site.
Lost Ark content roadmap and monthly updates
In late April, we unveiled the roadmap for the next several months of Lost Ark, with players gaining access in May to the Slayer Advanced Class: a melee warrior who stirs up the battlefield with her greatsword and powerful Burst Mode. In June we introduced players to the Elgacia Continent and delivered the Kayangel Abyssal Dungeon and Fortunespire Floors 26-50.
July brings even more new content for Lost Ark players, including the Kakul-Saydon Legion Raid Inferno Mode and the epilogue to the Elgacia storyline. And in August, players can access the new, 8-player Akkan Legion Raid, the new Aeromancer Advanced Class, and the Sonavel Guardian Raid.
For more comprehensive detail on all existing and upcoming Lost Ark content, head along to the official Lost Ark site.
Prime Gaming delivers a variety of gaming perks to Prime members
Prime Gaming kept the good times rolling for Prime members this quarter, offering popular and classic titles, including Wolfenstein: The New Order, STAR WARS™: Rogue Squadron 3D, and Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition. All told, Prime Gaming offered members more than 50 PC games over April, May, and June– not to mention the monthly access to a rotating selection of Amazon Luna titles each month for Prime members in the US, UK, Canada, and Germany. Over the past three months, Prime members in these countries could play games on Amazon Luna like Resident Evil 2, LEGO® DC Super-Villains, Yakuza Kiwami 2 and more, conveniently across a plethora of devices (including phones, tablets, PC via web browser, select Samsung televisions, and Amazon Fire TV).
But free games are just one of the benefits Prime Gaming offers to Prime members. Additionally, Prime members can claim compelling in-game content each month for some of today’s most popular titles, such as Destiny 2, World of Tanks, Overwatch 2, League of Legends, VALORANT and many more. And don’t forget: Prime members also get to claim a Twitch channel subscription each and every month, allowing them to support their favorite streamers.
Finally, in celebration of Prime Day, members can access even more gaming perks, including free games Prey, Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition, Shovel Knight: Showdown and STAR WARS: The Force Unleashed™. Additionally, members got the opportunity to claim different in-game content and perks for several popular games, including Overwatch 2, Diablo IV, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0, and Pokémon GO! For full details, head on over to the Prime Gaming blog.
