Amazon Games Opens Bucharest Studio Under Ex-Ubisoft Lead, Will Support Existing And Unannounced Projects

In a year that has seen gaming beset by layoffs and studio closures, it's nice to be reporting on a new studio opening and hiring. Amazon Games, the company behind MMORPGs Lost Ark and New World, is opening its first European studio in Bucharest, Romania. The new studio will be led by Cristian Pana. Pana comes to the company with over 20 years of industry experience, most recently as the Managing Director of Ubisoft's Bucharest studio.

Pana has a neat road to leadership. Having started as an accountant outside of the gaming world, Pana decided to leave that career and go into game testing simply due to his lifelong passion for gaming as a hobby. Working his way up the ladder while working on games in the Assassin's Creed, Splinter Cell, and The Division IPs, the latter IP being the one Pana is most proud of, Pana found his way into multiple leadership roles. The team has posted an interesting little interview where you can read about Pana's unique path to management.

As to what the new studio will be working on...well, that's a bit of a black box right now. The official studio announcement just mentions that the studio will support Amazon's operations on Lost Ark, New World, the upcoming Lord of the Rings MMO, Throne and Liberty, and several unannounced projects. Seems like this is a spot we'll have to circle back on after the studio staffs up. You can check out available positions on the Amazon Games career page.