The Next Level for Amazon Games

For a short while now, Amazon’s plans to seriously enter the gaming spectrum have been clear. They just haven’t figured out the best way to approach it.

This started when they purchased Double Helix Games in early 2014, shortly after they released two of their best games: Killer Instinct (though subsequent seasons were handled by Iron Galaxy Studios) and the Strider reboot. They also hired some talented developers, like Splinter Cell creator Clint Hocking and Portal creator Kim Swift, though the former returned to Ubisoft a year ago. But their first gaming attempt stumbled out the gate through the Amazon Fire TV, a multipurpose device used for video streaming, music playback, and gaming. For the last category, it did about as well as prior attempts at cheap microconsoles: It was nothing more than a blip on the radar, despite Amazon internally developing games for it. The device remains available for a cheap price, however.

But that wouldn’t be the end of their gaming ventures. After all, they formed a sizable internal organization and hired big names to spearhead software development, so it would have been a significant waste of resources to suddenly tear everything down. Not to mention they paid nearly $1 billion to acquire video game streaming service Twitch.

Those aforementioned factors tie into each other here. They recently announced three PC titles, each with online multiplayer components. In other words, they’re precisely the kind of titles people like to watch by the bulk on Twitch streams.

The game shown with the most information was Breakaway from Double Helix, a 4-on-4 sports game featuring a colorful cast. Here, the key to winning is guiding a ball to the goal in the opposing team’s zone, with the first team that scores three times winning the match. Its characters represent various classes, each with their own techniques, meaning this is essentially an alternate take on the newly-popular “Hero” subgenre with an extra twist. Characters also have health bars, and literally drop the ball upon taking damage. If they lose all health, they’re removed from the game for a short amount of time, putting their team at a disadvantage.

Additionally, there’s a base-building element where players construct traps and mechanisms to protect the goal while the team can’t defend it themselves. That’s, of course, not to say players can’t maneuver around them, or this game wouldn’t be any fun. The characters themselves can also be upgraded, though some will be bound to microtransactions. Seven characters have been revealed on the official website, some of which are based on historical or fantastical figures. A lengthy gameplay video was also shown, so onlookers can get a feel for the game. This should be the first title of the three to release, but when that will be is currently unknown.

The first game may not have been the hero shooter people expected after the popularity of Overwatch, and other games in the genre coming soon. But this second game, Crucible, might fit that mold. This 12-player first-person shooter is set on a hostile alien world, where each character will fight to the death, with the surviving player winning the match. Between the start of a battle and final victory, players will have to work with each other to topple others who can use similar strategies. In the final moments, one player can betray the other to be the victor, potentially creating tense and dramatic situations both inside and outside the game. A 13th player can serve as the game’s master to create match conditions and stream the experience through Twitch.

Additionally, there are opportunities for those watching the stream to make decisions that affect the match, though what they can be and how they can make them are currently unknown. This shows that the streaming audience is likely profitable enough for a publisher to make games aimed towards them, though the game also has to be good enough to hook them. We should be able to determine this as its currently-unknown launch date approaches.

The final game they unveiled is New World, which is notably different from the other two titles. It’s a Massively Multiplayer Online title that takes place in the 17th century, an alternate history which involves a number of supernatural elements to lend its world a sense of uniqueness. Here, players can build towns and forts, and other locations they can stay within, and choose from various professions like farmer or adventurer to determine how they want to play the game. It will simulate the feel of a real world, where players can work for or against others, and will contain 24-hour cycles and changing seasons.

It sounds intriguing, but given how all the media assets released by Amazon are concept art, it’s the earliest in development among the three. Since it will take place in a large open world, and present the player with a bevy of options, it will be a while before it releases.

Amazon hasn’t said whether these titles will be free-to-play or premium-priced, but they’ll make up their mind after they’ve determined how best to appeal to their potential audiences. Though these aren’t the kinds of games some players want to see, they should attract a big enough audience for this to be a worthwhile venture for Amazon. It’s too late to carve their own place in the traditional AAA-game space, but this is the next best thing business-wise in terms of games that could potentially rake in large profits. Expect to see more on all three in the coming months.