Amazon Plans Original Games, Game Streaming Service
Amazon is almost ready to enter the gaming market. Amazon already dominates the streaming market with Twitch, and the company is now preparing to launch its first original game next month after delays caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
The New York Times today detailed Amazon’s plans, including its new original games, as well as its upcoming cloud game streaming service. Amazon’s first original game, a science-fiction shooter called Crucible, will launch in May.
“Crucible is a third-person, last one standing game of trust and betrayal. Each match pits human and alien competitors with unique weapons and abilities against one another on a lush, alien world. Players make and break alliances on the fly. In Crucible it takes a mix of combat skill, strategic planning, and social finesse to survive,” says Amazon’s official website for its original games.
The company also plans on launching New World, its other original game that will be launching in May. The massive online multiplayer game will highlight the power of Amazon’s technology and cloud infrastructure.
“The big picture is about trying to take the best of Amazon and bringing it to games,” said Mike Frazzini, Amazon’s vice president for game services and studios. “We have been working for a while, but it takes a long time to make games, and we’re bringing a lot of Amazon practices to making games.”
Amazon originally planned to release Crucible on March 31st, but the company was forced to delay the release due to the coronavirus outbreak. Crucible was first revealed by Amazon Game Studios back in 2016. The company has a couple of its own game studio working on more original titles as well.
In the future, Amazon plans on developing a full-fledged cloud gaming platform. Codenamed Project Tempo, the new service would compete against Microsoft’s xCloud and Google’s Stadia.
Amazon is also said to be working on new interactive games to take advantage of Twitch. The new games would allow users to play along with streamers via Twitch. “We love this idea that you have a player, a streamer and a viewer all sharing in this synchronous interactive environment of Twitch,” Mr. Frazzini said.
Project Tempo is expected to launch next year.
Tagged with Amazon, Amazon Games, Project Tempo