Amazon developers were forced to implement AI - and their game was still canceled

One of the victims was a team in San Diego, working on a game codenamed Project Trident. Initially, it was a cooperative game where players hunted giant monsters. However, under pressure from management, who demanded the implementation of innovations based on LLM models, the project was radically redesigned into a comedic action game with an emphasis on interaction with AI characters.

In the new version, players could communicate with allies and enemies using natural speech or text. In one of the builds, it was possible to give commands to a hero named Thor, making him solve puzzles or convince captured opponents to switch sides.

Developers put a lot of effort into ensuring that the technology was not just for show — it was used to synchronize lip movements and animations. Despite skepticism, the team tried to implement AI as meaningfully as possible, hoping that fulfilling the requirements would protect their positions.

However, this did not help. In October 2025, Amazon carried out mass layoffs in its gaming divisions, resulting in Project Trident being canceled, and other projects, including an MMO based on "The Lord of the Rings", being halted. The New World team was also affected by the cuts.

The paradox is that the company effectively lost specialists who were among the first to learn how to combine classic development and new technologies, showing that even full compliance with corporate requirements does not guarantee the preservation of projects when strategies change.