Amazon Games Boss Mike Frazzini Steps Down After Nearly a Decade

Amazon Games Boss Mike Frazzini Steps Down After Nearly a Decade

After nearly a decade in leadership, head of Amazon Games Mike Frazzini is stepping down from his role as vice president. According to a report from Bloomberg, Amazon spokesperson Ryan Jones stated the departure was so Frazzini could “focus on his family.”

Frazzini was one of Amazon Games’ founding employees back in 2012, beginning as a director before transitioning to vice president in 2015. During his career at Amazon’s gaming division, Frazzini launched a series of mobile games on Apple devices early on before a longer stint with troubled projects.

Under Frazzini, the studio worked on now-abandoned projects like Breakaway and Crucible. Breakaway never made it to launch, while the studio’s first major title, Crucible, ended development and matchmaking support just a few months after release.

Since then, the studio saw success with its MMO New World, launching with over 900,000 players at its all-time peak. However, according to data from SteamDB, the game’s post-release drop-off suggests it’s not fairing quite as well, hovering around 28,000 for its average 24-hour peak player count through the week. Amazon Games found another recent hit with 2019’s Lost Ark, publishing the Smilegate MMORPG outside of South Korea in February 2022.

The Bloomberg report includes comments from one former Amazon Games manager, who pointed to Frazzini’s lack of games industry experience as an obstacle for the developer. The anonymous source said they, along with other employees, felt Amazon and Frazzini “underestimated the complexities of the medium.”

Before Amazon Games, Frazizini spent seven years working in the company’s books division, with no experience in the games industry. A report from Bloomberg in 2021 explained numerous challenges under Frazzini through a gross pattern of leadership incompetence, including instances of understaffing projects, ignoring advice from seasoned recruits, and initially hand-waving concerns over New World’s racist, colonial fantasy imagery.

Regardless, his departure from the megacorporation seems to have ended amicably. “Mike was there at the beginning of Amazon Games, and his leadership and perseverance helped build the games business from the ground up, “read the Amazon statement. “Our recent successes with New World and Lost Ark are the result of the long-term, customer-focused vision for games he helped establish. We are very grateful for all his contributions, and wish Mike the very best.”

Author: Deann Hawkins