In a new announcement, Amazon and developer Smilegate confirmed that live-service operations for the Western release of Lost Ark will transition entirely back to Smilegate in early 2027. This is what has led to Smilegate reassuming control of Lost Ark from Amazon. According to official updates on the Lost Ark website, Smilegate will soon be taking over the publishing, community channels, and infrastructure. Player characters and progression will automatically carry over to Smilegate’s servers, with players linking their existing Steam accounts to Smilegate’s servers after the transition. Shedding massive MMORPG titles like Throne and Liberty and Lost Ark is definitely a blow to Amazon Game Studios, especially since the company axed other MMO projects like Lord of the Rings earlier this year.