Amazon Game Studios founder leaves company after nine years
Alf Tan, founder of Amazon Game Studios, Amazon Luna director, and former director at Xbox, has left Amazon after nine years and six months with the company.
Posting on his LinkedIn, Tan states: “With my teammates, I got the opportunity to start Amazon Game Studios, build the Amazon Appstore to a profitable $billion business, launch Luna, Bar Raise 400+ interviews, speak at NHOs, mentor leaders, coach teams, and learn from fellow Amazonians what it means to be a good human.
“I will miss the clarity of our mission and principles. I will most miss colleagues that have inspired and challenged me to be better every day. As I reflect on my Amazon journey, the highlights were consistently the people I worked with.”
Tan seems to be continuing his career in the games industry, finishing his goodbye with: “Tough decision to move on from something I love. Stay tuned, I will continue to deliver joy through games.”
Amazon’s Luna platform has been available since March 2022 after a beta phase, though the service hasn’t yet made waves among gaming fans, even with 86 games available from publishers including Ubisoft, Capcom, and Sega.
It’s almost impossible to hazard a guess at what Alf Tan’s next move could be, or what this means for Amazon Luna, if anything.
In 2019 Amazon Game Studios canceled several unannounced games and laid off “dozens” of staff during that year’s E3 event in Los Angeles, according to Kotaku. Crucible was one of the highest-profile cancellations, a hero shooter that saw a beta in May 2020, followed by ceased development in October of that year.
Amazon Game Studios has since seen success with New World and Lost Ark, two high-profile MMORPGs, so it seems unlikely that Amazon Game Studios as a whole is going anywhere any time soon. Though whether the focus will be on Amazon Luna or more games is yet to be seen.
Written by Dave Aubrey on behalf of GLHF.