Amazon reduces games division by 180

Since Rockstar Games was established as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive in December 1998, the studio has released several acclaimed titles, most notably the and series. Despite this, the company has worked on several titles that have gone on to be either officially canceled or simply never completed.

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Who doesn’t love when something is free? That’s what we thought. Free is the ultimate “win,” especially when you’re getting a good quality item for free. For example, if you’re getting a former Game of the Year candidate video game for free, you’re doing something right. What title are we talking about? Deathloop. The game by Arkhane Lyon and Bethesda was one of the surprise hits of 2021 and got heaps of praise from fans and critics. It was so beloved that it’s one of Bethesda’s best-reviewed games. Yes, it has a better rating than Starfield, and it deserves it.

Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer release date is finally upon us, as confirmed by Rockstar Games via a tweet. The first footage from the highly-anticipated crime odyssey sequel will be out on Tuesday, December 5, at 7:30pm IST in India/ 9am ET in the US, with the publisher only posting an image of a sunset and palm tree silhouettes — confirming previous claims that it's set in a fictionalised version of Miami, which franchise veterans might recognise as a return to Vice City. With that, it is clear that Geoff Keighley won't be presenting the trailer at The Game Awards 2023, though a teaser or some screenshot drops are always possible.

Amazon has revealed the next wave of ‘free’ titles that will be available to Prime members.

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Rockstar has removed the Social Club branding from its website, presumably in anticipation of GTA 6. As per the news account @videotechuk_ on Twitter, the publisher has replaced the nomenclature with simply ‘Rockstar Games' and scrapped any references to ‘Social Club members.' The online gaming service is also missing the old logo now, though players can still engage in multiplayer elements and accrue member-exclusive rewards from games like Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2. For now, it's unclear whether Rockstar would launch a new platform or simply update the existing application to usher in the new era, but traces of the branding still remain in-game.

The video game industry’s string of layoffs continues: Digital Bros. Entertainment and Kongregate have both announced job cuts.

Amazon Games is laying off 180 employees, primarily focusing on its Prime-related offerings. The entire team from Crown Channel, an Amazon-backed channel on Amazon-owned Twitch, has been let go, and the news adds to a miserable pile of layoffs across the gaming and tech industries in 2023: Amazon itself made 100 job cuts in April.

Amazon announced another cluster of layoffs this week along with plans to discontinue the Crown channel, a flashy Amazon-run Twitch channel that featured television-like programming. Amazon will also shutter its Game Growth group, which helped creators in the gaming world market themselves.

2023's games industry jobapocalypse continues with news that Amazon Games are laying off 180 people. This includes the entirety of the Twitch service Crown Channel, plus its Game Growth division. According to Amazon themselves, it's all with a view to refocussing on Prime Gaming, which serves up games to Amazon Prime subscribers.

Amazon has laid off 180 people from its games division, including the entirety of the Crown Channel Twitch channel and the Game Growth team.