Amazon is now speculated to be developing its own cloud-based video game streaming service. Details are scant at the moment, but it's fair to assume the online retailer wants to create a Netflix-style on-demand platform for playing video games.
Amazon has spent years trying its luck in the gaming business, with no significant yields, but streaming might just be the boost it needs, especially as cloud-based platforms gain more traction.
Even if this rumor was true, Amazon wouldn't be the first to roll out such a service. Sony's PlayStation Now, which works similarly, comes to mind. But while Sony was ahead of the curve, the service rarely offers new games and has often been noted to have performance issues.
Amazon Preparing Its Video Game Streaming Service
That could all change soon according to a report from The Information, which claims that Amazon is soon going to ride the cloud-based gaming bandwagon along with its fiercest rivals Microsoft and Google.
The report, citing two sources who claim to have been briefed on Amazon's plans, says the company has started reaching out to publishers in the game industry about distributing their products on its service. Suppose there will be no hiccups in development, it still wouldn't launch until next year, however.
Adding credence to this rumor is The Verge, which recently uncovered new Amazon job listings: two engineers to work on "cloud games," a lead cross platform game engineer, and an artificial intelligence engineer to work on "a never before seen kind of game."
Why It Makes Sense
Amazon isn't a newcomer to the gaming landscape. Its Fire TV streaming device, in fact, has a number of games. While they're certainly not bombastic, earth-shattering titles, their very existence proves Amazon has a little bit of experience in that department.
Apart from that, Amazon owns Twitch, which is perhaps the most popular livestreaming service currently. Primarily used by content creators such as Ninja Blevins, Twitch allows users to livestream their gaming sessions to millions of viewers around the world.
That's not all. The company's Amazon Web Services cloud platform has a dedicated unit for working with game publishers.
What this means is that Amazon is essentially all set. It even has its own gaming studio. The only thing it needs now to become an official player in the games industry is its own cloud-based platform.
With this, the future of gaming looks clear. There are already quite a number of games people can stream from their computer, such as Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, which Google recently offered for free via its own cloud-based gaming platform.
Suffice it to say that video game streaming is likely the next step in gaming, and with as huge a company as Amazon joining the ranks, expect the industry to hit full throttle.
