Amazon steps back from MMOs, transfers operations of Throne and Liberty and Lost Art to NC and Smilegate

Amazon Game Studios is exiting the MMO publishing space, with two major live games moving back to their original Korean owners. Throne and Liberty’s global service will transfer to NC, while Lost Ark will return to Smilegate’s direct live operations after Amazon’s publishing agreement ends. For teams shipping online games, this is a reminder that publishing control, live-ops ownership, and regional service structure can shift even after launch.

Throne and Liberty launched in October 2024 and drew more than three million players in its first week, but its global publishing service is now set to migrate to NC by Q4 2026. FirstSpark Games, an NC subsidiary, is working with Amazon on the technical and operational handoff, with the stated goal of keeping the gameplay environment and assets intact across Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, and NC’s Purple service. Player account details are expected to remain unchanged.

Lost Ark is following a similar path, with Smilegate taking over live service operations in early 2027. Amazon says the game will continue running under its banner until then, and player account data, characters, progression, items, and wallet balances will transfer automatically. The practical takeaway for developers is that live-service continuity depends as much on backend ownership and regional publishing agreements as it does on the game itself.

This move also fits a broader pullback from Amazon’s MMO ambitions. New World: Aeternum was shut down in January after development had already paused amid wider layoffs, King of Meat was later canceled, and Amazon also...