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Amazon has signed a deal with South Korean developer Smilegate RPG to publish an unannounced title. The deal is an exclusive one for North America and Europe.
Smilegate RPG is a developer which is part of the Smilegate Group, which in turn also publishes the very popular Crossfire franchise. Smilegate RPG is working on Lost Ark at present, an MMORPG that has been in open beta for over a year, and which the company has previously stated that it wanted to bring to western markets. It seems highly likely, though not certain, that this is the title in question.
The title has been described as having Diablo 3 like gameplay, but set in a broader, open world.
“Amazon Games is committed to bringing our customers the most engaging game experiences, both through our own internal development teams and from the very best external development studios around the world,” said Christoph Hartmann, VP, Amazon Games. “Smilegate has a strong track record of creating big games that players love, built to offer years of enjoyment — exactly the type of best-in-class, living, growing online games we want to bring our customers.”
“Smilegate RPG and Amazon Games will combine our respective expertise to introduce one of our AAA games to Western players,” said Chi Won Gil, CEO, Smilegate RPG. “Amazon Games is uniquely positioned as a publisher to reach entirely new audiences through its deep commitment to customers and substantial games publishing resources and channels, including Twitch, Prime Gaming, AWS, and more.”
Recently Amazon has been concentrating on its own internal development, so the shift to signing an external title is a change of direction if not a wholly new venture for Amazon.
The company is developing its own MMO in New World, set to release in Spring 2021, it’s still experimenting with its recently launched team shooter Crucible, plus it has a major title in development based on The Lord of the Rings.
