It may be canceled (or it may not be)
Breakawaymay be dead before it could ever truly live. The hybrid sports brawler was a blue chip prospect for Amazon’s newly-formed game development division. It seemed likeit was shaping upto be something special. Plans have changed, though.
According to a report fromKotaku, two sources have said thatBreakawaymay be canceled. At the very least, it’s on an “indefinite hiatus.” Amazon has held several public playtesting events forBreakawayover the past few months, and that data seemingly indicated that the game isn’t on the right path.
Shortly after Kotaku published its story,Amazon released its own statementthat reads, in part: “to get it right, we’re letting our team take the time to iterate and evolveBreakaway‘s core gameplay to deliver what you’ve asked for. We aren’t sure how long this will take, but we think it’s the right thing to do for the game, and you, the community.”
Whether it’s canceled, on hiatus, or being retooled, this development can’t really be construed as anything other than a major loss for a developer that hasn’t had any real wins. Known designers Clint Hocking and Kim Swift both left Amazon before shipping a game. Across its three studios, it has only produced mobile titles that haven’t made much of a splash. Now thatBreakawayis shelved, the two PC games in its lineup areNew WorldandCrucible— neither of which has gotten the attention thatBreakawaydid.
Amazon Game Studios really needs something to go right soon. The one undeniable positive (and this really can’t be overstated enough) is that it’s funded by the world’s biggest retailer.
