AWS is handling the aftermath of drone attacks that damaged three data centers in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in March 2026, confirming permanent data loss in one availability zone and ending billing for the Middle East region. Building on its AI production work with Amazon MGM Studios, the company also released a Japanese edition of its AWS BuilderCards game to retail in September 2026.
AWS's recent coverage is split between disaster recovery and entertainment tooling. In September 2026, AWS confirmed that data hosted only in the availability zone called mec1-az2 was permanently lost after drone attacks damaged three facilities in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in March 2026. The company said it is working on recovery for mec1-az1 and mec1-az3, with no prospect of restoration at the time of the announcement, and that billing for the Middle East region has stopped. The failure points to isolation within a single availability zone as the difference between an outage and unrecoverable loss, which shapes how the region gets rebuilt.
Earlier in 2026, AWS and Amazon MGM Studios launched the GenAI Creators' Fund on May 27, a program providing AI tools and funding to creators. Through the fund, three anime series were commissioned: "Cupcake & Friends" by BuzzFeed Studios, "Love, Diana Music Hunters" by Albie Hecht, and "Punky Duck" by Jorge R. Gutierrez. All are produced using AWS's Project Nara AI platform with human oversight and premiere on Prime Video.
In September 2026, AWS announced that the Japanese version of its AWS BuilderCards game is available to order on Amazon, with the second edition scheduled for release on September 25. The game was previously distributed only in limited quantities at AWS study groups and events. This retail expansion follows the company's AI production push and its data center recovery efforts, showing AWS operating across infrastructure, creative funding, and educational outreach.
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Amazon Web Services says data hosted only in the availability zone called mec1-az2 was permanently lost after drone attacks damaged three facilities in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in March 2026. AWS also says it is working on recovery for mec1-az1 and mec1-az3, with no prospect of restoration at the time of the announcement. Billing for the Middle East region has stopped.
AWS announced on September 15 that the Japanese version of AWS BuilderCards is available to order on Amazon, with the second edition scheduled for release on September 25. The turn-based deck-building game for 2 to 4 players was previously handed out in limited quantities at AWS study groups and events. Players buy Builder Cards representing AWS services and Well-Architected Cards worth 1 or 3 points, then total their scores.
Amazon MGM Studios and AWS announced the GenAI Creators' Fund on May 27, a program providing AI tools and funding to creators. Three anime series have been commissioned from the fund: "Cupcake & Friends" by BuzzFeed Studios, "Love, Diana Music Hunters" by Albie Hecht, and "Punky Duck" by Jorge R. Gutierrez. All will be produced using AWS's Project Nara AI platform with human oversight and will premiere on Prime Video.