Smilegate Takes Over Lost Ark As NCSoft Reclaims Throne And Liberty From Amazon

Amazon Game Studios is stepping away from publishing two of its biggest Western MMORPG releases, and each game is heading to a different home.

Amazon Hands Both MMOs Back To Their Developers

In an official post on Lost Ark’s website, the team confirmed that starting in early 2027, Amazon will end its live service operations of Lost Ark, with original developer Smilegate taking over. “We are excited about the future of Lost Ark and feel this is a positive outcome for the game’s players, as we are handing the game back to the developers,” the post reads.

Throne and Liberty is following a similar path, but to a different publisher. According to the official Throne and Liberty update, Amazon will transition live operations to FirstSpark Games, an NC subsidiary, starting in Q4 2026. Both titles were originally developed in Korea, with Amazon serving as the Western publisher handling localization, infrastructure, marketing, and regional operations for each.

What Changes For Lost Ark Players?

Lost Ark is not shutting down, and Smilegate says its take over should mean a more direct line between the people making the game and the players affected by its changes. According to the FAQ, characters, progression, inventory, entitlements, and purchases will transfer automatically to Smilegate’s systems, and wallet balances, including Royal Crystals, Blue Crystals, Gold, and Silver, will carry over at full value. Chat history, in-game mail contents, and several other minor data types will not transfer.

Players who don’t want their account migrated can opt out through a window that opened August 12 and runs until shortly before the transition, though doing so means starting over with no progression carried across. Spanish language support is also being removed with the October 2026 update, after which Lost Ark in the West will be available in English only.

Players should still expect ongoing changes to systems like the game’s economy and progression grind, alongside longstanding community tools such as the unofficial DPS meter, given how much existing content, including its sprawling collection of Lost Ark islands, the new publisher will need to keep supporting.

What Happens To Throne And Liberty?

Throne and Liberty’s transition follows a broadly similar structure, migrating in Q4 2026 rather than early 2027. Characters, progression, and in-game currencies such as Lucent, Loyalty Points, Sollant, and Ornate Coins are set to transfer automatically unless players opt out through NC’s own opt-out process. Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox accounts stay unaffected, and cross-play between all platforms will continue as before.

One notable addition: players will also gain access to the game through PURPLE, NC’s own launcher, once the transition completes, with cross-progression supported between Steam and PURPLE specifically, though not extending to console platforms. Major content updates, including one referred to internally as Nix, may be held back until after the migration to support the data transition.

For now, players of both games should watch official channels for exact downtime windows and further account details as the transition dates approach. Amazon is stepping back from both titles, but neither is ending, and the developers behind Lost Ark and Thrones of Liberty are the ones directly responsible for what comes next.