Ex-2K Executive Departs Amazon Game Studios Amid Shift to Casual Gaming

The head of Amazon Game Studios is stepping down. VP Christoph Hartmann is leaving the company, as reported by a source. This marks another setback for a tech giant that once had grand aspirations in the gaming world.

Hartmann co-founded 2K Games and served as president of the publisher behind titles like BioShock and Borderlands until his departure in 2017. He joined Amazon a year later to oversee various studios, including those working on the MMO New World, which is now scheduled to go offline in January 2027.

“Gaming, today’s favorite form of entertainment in the world, is connecting hundreds of millions of people,” Hartmann stated when he joined Amazon in 2018. “With the teams at AGS, the incredible tools and technology from AWS, the global communities of Twitch and Twitch Prime, and all of the other assets around Amazon, there are few companies in the world set up to take gaming to the next level.”

Regrettably, Amazon has struggled to integrate these resources effectively to create a lasting success in the fiercely competitive gaming market. One notable project was the 2020 hero shooter Crucible from Relentless Studios, which was quickly “unreleased” and ultimately canceled just months after its launch.

Last fall, Amazon indicated a shift away from AAA game development amid significant layoffs across the company. The status of a previously announced Lord of the Rings MMO remains unconfirmed, although one developer mentioned that their team was also let go. Amazon is still set to publish the upcoming Tomb Raider games, including this year’s reboot of the original.

Currently, it appears that Amazon’s gaming focus is primarily on its cloud gaming platform, Luna. The company pivoted last fall to concentrate on party games, including a courtroom comedy featuring an AI version of Snoop Dogg. Hartmann and Amazon have not yet responded to requests for comment.