Amazon Game Studios is relinquishing direct control over two of its flagship Western MMO investments. Throne and Liberty will return to developer NCSoft and its subsidiary FirstSpark Games in the fourth quarter of 2026, while Lost Ark will transition back to its original creator, Smilegate, in early 2027.The moves mark a strategy shift away from hands-on regional publishing, community management, customer support, and live-service operations for third-party online games.

Handing back Throne and Liberty
Amazon will transfer Western publishing and live operations for Throne and Liberty to NCSoft and FirstSpark Games in Q4 2026 after nearly two years of running regional support and regular updates.

- Account & Platform Continuity: Characters, progression, inventory, game data, and platform access on Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox will carry over automatically unless players opt out. Cross-play across these platforms will remain active.
- PURPLE Integration: NCSoft will introduce its proprietary PURPLE platform as an additional access point, supporting cross-progression with Steam (excluding other consoles).
- Content Delays: While standard patches will continue, major upcoming releases (such as the Nix update) may face minor delays during data migration.

Lost Ark transitions to Smilegate in 2027

- Smilegate will assume complete responsibility for Lost Ark's Western release in early 2027, taking charge of publishing, live operations, customer support, and the in-game store.
- Data Transfers: Accounts, progression, inventories, and wallet balances will transfer automatically. Players will link their Steam accounts to Smilegate systems and accept updated Terms of Service.
- Non-Transferable Content: Free-text player data—including in-game mail, chat histories, friend/blacklist notes, guild nicknames, and stronghold gift messages—will not transfer. Players are advised to claim items from in-game mail prior to the handoff.
- Community Handoff: Amazon's official Lost Ark website, Discord server, and social channels will shut down or transfer control to Smilegate.