Amazon Games signs on to publish a Smilegate RPG game in the West

Amazon Games has nabbed the exclusive publishing rights to an upcoming (but undisclosed) game from Korean game dev Smilegate RPG.

It’s not Amazon’s first foray into game publishing by any means, but considering many of its headline-making activities of late have involved development rather than publishing its a notable change of pace.

Both of those Amazon Games-developed projects, New World and Crucible, are online games, making for a bit of overlap with what Smilegate typically offers. Amazon says in a statement that this shared interest is part of what endears it about Smilegate RPG and its parent company Smilegate. 

“Smilegate has a strong track record of creating big games that players love, built to offer years of enjoyment — exactly the type of best-in-class, living, growing online games we want to bring our customers,” reads a statement from Amazon Games VP Christoph Hartmann.

On the Smilegate side of things, the Korean dev studio sees the deal as a gateway to bring an unnamed Smilegate RPG title to the West. A statement from the company adds that Amazon’s entire suite of properties (like Twitch, Prime Gaming, and AWS) makes the arrangement an attractive partnership as well. 

“Smilegate RPG and Amazon Games will combine our respective expertise to introduce one of our AAA games to Western players. Amazon Games is uniquely positioned as a publisher to reach entirely new audiences through its deep commitment to customers and substantial games publishing resources and channels,” adds Smilegate RPG CEO Chi Won Gil.