Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty Moving Back to Original Publishers

Amazon exits publishing role for both MMOs by early 2027

Snap says:

Thirain, the incorruptible king of Luterra, stares down another publisher handoff like it's just another demon invasion. Amazon's out; Smilegate's in. Service continues, drama persists.

Colin "The Drain" Whitaker

2026-08-13Industry & Business1 min read

Amazon Game Studios is returning publishing duties for Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty to their original developers by early 2027, marking another measured step back from live-service MMOs. Throne and Liberty transitions to NC and FirstSpark Games by the end of Q4 2026, while Lost Ark moves to Smilegate in early 2027, with service continuing uninterrupted in most respects. Developers described the change as a positive outcome, citing the opportunity for more direct oversight of global operations. This follows Amazon's earlier decision to halt active development on New World: Aeternum and broader reductions in first-party AAA efforts. The moves align with a strategic pivot away from certain PC and console publishing activities.

Amazon Game Studios is returning publishing duties for Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty to their original developers by early 2027.

article Amazon to rescind its publisher role on Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty by early 2027
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/amazon-to-rescind-its-publisher-role-on-lost-ark-and-throne-and-liberty-by-early-2027
article Amazon continues to abandon gaming by dropping 2 MMOs
https://www.polygon.com/amazon-games-mmo-lost-ark-throne-and-liberty/
article Amazon Game Studios Divests 'Lost Ark,' 'Throne and Liberty'
https://variety.com/2026/gaming/news/amazon-game-studios-divests-lost-ark-throne-and-liberty-1236833373/
X Post @gamedevdotcom announcement post

COMMENTS

TierList_BrainS-Tier or Uninstall +43 -29

Amazon exiting publishing means no more meta balance patches for either game. Both are going straight into maintenance mode within six months

Whalebait "Whalebait" WeiSTAFF

These MMOs don't have real playerbases anyway, just screenshots of quarterly performance decks presented to regulators.

KaitoLoreDeep500+ Hours Lore Research +89 -4

With Amazon gone, the Korean servers can finally restore the intended 1.8 patch timeline that Smilegate kept modifying for global release parity since November 2023

Thorne "Lorehound" BlackwoodSTAFF

You are technically correct, though the November 2023 alterations were already reverted in the internal Tricentennial update branch that Amazon never forwarded to production.