Internal emails obtained by Bloomberg indicate that Jassy is willing to wait for the game studio to find its footing. “Being successful right away is obviously less stressful, but when it takes longer, it’s often sweeter,” Jassy wrote in an email to staff. “I believe this team will get there if we stay focused on what matters most.” “Though we haven’t consistently succeeded yet in AGS, I believe we will if we hang in there,” he also said. “Haven’t consistently succeeded” is a very kind way of saying the studio has yet to launch a well-received game, having cancelled Breakaway in 2018, killing Crucible’s short-lived launch last year, and delaying their MMO New World to sometime this spring. They’ve reportedly cancelled other unannounced projects as well. As for his own influence, Frazzini says “we’ve learned and improved a lot along the way, myself included, and we will continue to do so,” and that “making great games is hard, and we’re not going to get everything right.” The larger context here is that earlier this week the other tech giant attempting to break into game development threw in the towel. Google announced they would be shutting down both Stadia game development studios to focus on partnerships with external studios for the Stadia subscription library.
