Amazon Game Studios has announced it will no longer support the Western game servers for massively-multiplayer online action role-playing game Lost Ark, from 2027 onwards.

But it's not the end. In its place, the original Lost Ark developer Smilegate is swooping in to take control of these western servers. As the company responsible for all other global servers, this means Lost Ark is now completely in Smilegate's control. Western social media accounts and the official website will no longer be operated by Amazon.

Lost Ark - Official Gameplay Trailer | Summer Game Fest 2021

There is no official word on exactly when this handover will take place, as the date is listed only as a vague "early 2027" on the official announcement blog.

Character progression, unlocks, save data, wallet balance, and all other major aspects of an account will stay the same when the handoff occurs. The customer support service will change, and players will have to accept a new terms of service agreement from Smilegate after the transition.

As for active in-game subscriptions, these will be cancelled when the transition happens. The 12-month Crystalline Plus subscription (think a premium battlepass) has been taken off the in-game store, with the official blog post noting: "We recommend not purchasing new long-term subscriptions. Remaining pre-paid time handling is being finalised with Smilegate."

There will, however, be some smaller, miscellaneous things lost in the transition that may cause frustration for players. In-game mail, friends lists and group names, blacklist memos, guild member nicknames and memos, stronghold gift messages and quiz data, and chat messages and history will all be wiped. As such, players who intend to continue playing after the transition should clear their inboxes before the new year, and prepare themselves for some social busywork.

Oddly, this announcement also sets a death timer for official Spanish language support. According to the announcement blog, Spanish language support will be removed in the October 2026 update, with western servers only featuring English language support going forward.

In the blog post, the western development team of Lost Ark wrote a message thanking their players for their support. It concluded: "From the bottom of our hearts: thank you for your passion, your patience, and for making Arkesia feel like home for five incredible years. We'll see you in Arkesia. The adventure continues."

This is the latest consequence of Amazon's retreat for MMO development, which began in earnest with the end-of-service announcement for New World in January. This announcement was quickly followed by mass layoffs, which involved the vast majority of the New World team, R&D developers working on a generative AI-powered game, and those working on a Lord of the Rings MMO.

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