Yahoo Finance Amazon's new CEO plans to 'hang in there' on game development
In a leaked email he said success sometimes takes time.
Incoming Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is reportedly committed to the idea of the company continuing to make games, even as it has yet to release one that is either commercially or critically successful. “Some businesses take off in the first year, and others take many years,” he wrote in an email obtained by Bloomberg. “Though we haven’t consistently succeeded yet in Amazon Game Studios, I believe we will if we hang in there.” Jassy is said to have sent the email one day before Amazon announced he would take over as CEO of the company once Jeff Bezos leaves the post later this year.
The timing of the message is significant for a couple of other reasons. At the end of January, Bloomberg published a report that detailed some of the failings of Amazon Game Studios, narrowing in on the inexperience of its head, Mike Frazzini, who had never worked on a game before he took the position. News of the email also comes in the same week that Google announced it was shutting down its internal Stadia game studios.
Given the billions Amazon has spent on creating its own games with little to nothing to show for it, it would be hard to blame Jassy for wanting to throw in the towel. How he feels about Amazon’s gaming prospects once he takes over as CEO will likely depend a lot on how its upcoming MMO performs. After multiple delays, New World is currently scheduled to come out sometime this spring.
