From our internal studios and development partners, to Prime Gaming and more, the past few months saw a lot of activity at Amazon Games. Players got a first look at previews for upcoming titles THRONE AND LIBERTY and BLUE PROTOCOL, with both games showcased to media at the world’s largest gaming event - gamescom. New seasons and expansions launched for New World and Lost Ark. Plus, our Prime Gaming members got to enjoy loads of free games along with a great selection of in-game content for some of today’s most sought-after titles.
See below for some of the biggest happenings from Amazon Games over the past few months.
Amazon Games at gamescom
In August, Amazon Games was live at gamescom in Cologne, Germany, to offer demos of titles coming next year. The world’s largest games industry conference, this year’s event drew over 320K attendees. We had a great turnout with gamers lined up to capture a selfie in the BLUE PROTOCOL photo booth, and media getting the opportunity to experience demos of BLUE PROTOCOL and THRONE AND LIBERTY.
©2019 Bandai Namco Online Inc./Bandai Namco Studios Inc.
BLUE PROTOCOL Previews and New Trailer
In late July, building on a successful launch in Japan in June, the first preview impressions for the western version of BLUE PROTOCOL began to publish worldwide.
Overall, media were pleased with what they saw and eager to play more. Headlines like IGN’s “BLUE PROTOCOL Preview: Living Out my Anime Action Dreams” and ComicBook.com’s “BLUE PROTOCOL Preview: Amazon’s Most Promising MMO Yet” set the tone as the game heads towards launch in 2024.
Along with all the previews, we also unveiled the latest BLUE PROTOCOL trailer, ‘Fight for the Future.’.
THRONE AND LIBERTY previews
In addition to BLUE PROTOCOL, more global media have had the opportunity to get their hands on a preview build of THRONE AND LIBERTY, the upcoming free-to-play, multiplatform crossplay MMORPG that takes place in the vast open world of Solisium. Developed by NCSOFT, Amazon Games will publish THRONE AND LIBERTY in North America, South America, Europe and Japan on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
The Loadout described the THRONE AND LIBERTY preview as “a solid start for this ambitious MMO,” while The Gamer wrote that “if it can hold true to its bold promises of MMO fairness, this could be a brilliant game.”
Both Amazon Games and NCSOFT are hard at work evaluating player feedback from the recent technical test, and we’re excited for fans to eventually see the progress we’re making on the road to launch. Stay tuned for exciting updates in the future!
Two seasons of New World, the Rise of Angry Earth Expansion and 2nd-birthday celebrations
This summer, New World celebrated an important milestone and the land of Aeternum saw lots of new, entertaining activity and content releases.
First, the New World team welcomed players to a new Season 2 storyline – Blood of the Sands. Alongside a new Season Pass, players discovered an ancient group who call themselves the Blood of the Sands, and a new Season journey where they encountered new activities on the Activity Card, new Challenges, and rewards. Season 2 also introduced a new Elite Trial: Arena of Shah Neshen, and the new Heartrune ability: The Devourer.
Next came the announcement of New World’s first paid expansion, New World: Rise of the Angry Earth, which just arrived on October 3rd. In this new expansion, adventurers will discover the story behind the fall of First Light and the rise of the Elysian Wilds. In addition to the transformed zone, there will be mounts for faster travel, a new Flail weapon, a new gear rarity called Artifacts, and progression changes.
Adding to the Fall fun, the New World team treated players to the launch of Season 3, which also went live on October 3rd. Season 3 comes with a new Season Pass, updated mainline story quests, open world PvP changes, and more.
On September 28, New World celebrated its second anniversary. New World Game Director Scot Lane and several members of his development team also took the opportunity to reflect on two years of the game and share heartfelt and amusing anecdotes – you can read the full post here.
Finally, Nightveil Hallow returns to New World as Baalphazu, Marquis of Terror rises once again on October 18 until November 14. Banish the shadowy demon back to the darkness, don unique costumes, and trick-or-treat for new candy rewards. You can also purchase new and returning event-specific items in the Event Shop. New World fans can see the official post over at newworld.com for full, comprehensive details.
Lost Ark Debuts “Beat the Heat” and “Jump to the Endgame” updates, plus final 2023 Content Roadmap installment
As summer temperatures rose in July, Lost Ark’s “Beat the Heat” update arrived. Players celebrated the summer by completing the Elgacia Epilogue quests, wrapping up the next chapter in Lost Ark’s story. Players also, for the first time, felt the burn in the new Inferno difficulty of the Kakul-Saydon Legion Raid, while enjoying new titles, achievements, and more. Last but not least, the Maharaka Festival returned with its own entertaining games.
In August, the heroes of Arkesia were offered a look ahead when the Lost Ark team revealed Part 3, the final instalment of the game’s 2023 Content Roadmap. Revelations included the August arrival of quality of life updates based directly on player feedback. In September, additions included new Jump-Start Servers for new and returning Lost Ark players, the long-awaited arrival of the Yoz’s Jar feature, a Primal Island Battle Royale, and a new season of Ark Pass. In October, players will be able to explore the new continent of Pleccia and the new Caliligos Trial Guardian Raid. November will introduce players to the new Souleater Advanced Class, an Assassin subclass who harvests the souls of her enemies. Finally, in December, players can explore the new continent of Voldis, known for its sages and alchemy, challenge the Ivory Tower Abyssal Dungeon, and enjoy a new season of Ark Pass.
In September, the Lost Ark team launched a new update, “Jump to the Endgame.” As the title suggests, the focus of this update was a new feature allowing players to progress quickly to the endgame content. This new feature is enabled with Jump-Start servers, as shared above in Part 3 of the 2023 Content Roadmap. As some of the game’s very best content consists of raids and dungeons reserved for players who reach the “endgame,” Jump-Start servers are aimed at new and returning players, to get them up to speed and straight into some of the game’s most compelling content.
In addition to Jump-Start servers, players can take part in additional progression events, including the South Vern Powerpass, Story Express, and Jump-Start Mokoko Express Event.
Last of all, Lost Ark players can celebrate the spooky season with scary new customization options. Players can pick up weapons guaranteed to scare their enemies or dress up as witches and demons with the newly available Overlord and Witch skins. They can even haunt the world of Arkesia with the Little Ghost Pet. Also, players can use tokens earned from Event Guardians to purchase a variety of valuable and spooky seasonal Halloween rewards at an event vendor.
The content keeps rolling with Prime Gaming
Prime Gaming members enjoyed a host of great games and content over July, August and September. Free Games with Prime titles over the last quarter included PayDay 2, Quake 4, Football Manager 2023 and more. Meanwhile, fantastic in-game content was on offer for several of today’s most popular games, such as Diablo IV, League of Legends, Pokémon GO, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Modern Warfare 2, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout and much, much more.
Additionally, Prime members in the US, Canada, Germany and the UK got to take advantage of Amazon Luna’s Prime Gaming offer and play a rotating selection of games at no additional cost through a dedicated channel. Over the last quarter, members could access titles such as Fortnite, WRC Generations, Metal Slug and more through the cloud on supported devices.
Finally, Prime Gaming recently announced yet another great line-up of content in celebration of the spooky season. Throughout October for Halloween, members can claim incredible titles such as Ghostwire: Tokyo, Grunnd and The Textorcist, with seasonal in-game content for Call of Duty: Warzone and Modern Warfare 2, Dead by Daylight, Diablo IV, Roblox, Pokémon GO, World of Warcraft and many other titles.
