The next consumer mega-giant is preparing to muscle their way into the gaming space.
The Information reported on Thursday that Amazon is preparing to enter the gaming market with their own streaming service sometime in 2020.
“Amazon is developing a service for streaming videogames over the internet, joining Microsoft, Google and other companies that are building similar offerings in what could be an important new battleground in online entertainment, two people briefed on the plans said.”
The report from The Information on Amazon’s impending entry into the gaming industry falls in line with what NerdBacon has been covering since May of 2018; The gaming industry is preparing for a massive shift as it prepares for the arrival of what we dubbed “The Titans”: Google, Amazon, and Apple.
Google officially announced their intentions to enter the gaming market in October of last year with a streaming service currently known as “Project Stream“. This service, which is preparing to conclude its first invite-only beta, allows users to stream content to any device with an internet connection and Google’s Chrome web browser.
Not to be outdone, Microsoft announced at E3 2018 that they would be developing their own streaming service, which was later dubbed Project xCloud. Microsoft’s intention here is to allow their users to stream game content to any device, whether it’s a PC, smartphone, or tablet.
NerdBacon also expects an official announcement from Apple regarding their intentions to create a streaming service for games later in 2019.
A game streaming platform integrated with Twitch would create an extremely powerful force in the gaming industry.
Amazon began making moves into the gaming market back in 2014 with the purchase of Double Helix Games, which was a notable move at the time, as Double Helix was fresh off developing a very successful revival of the classic fighting game series Killer Instinct for Microsoft’s fledgling Xbox One. Later that year, Amazon became a significant player in the gaming industry through their acquisition of Twitch for close to $1 billion.
It would not be a stretch of the imagination to see Amazon evolve Twitch into a completely integrated game delivery platform. One that allows users to watch, stream, and purchase a vast array of content. Essentially, players would never have to leave the Twitch ecosystem. Amazon can take it even further by integrating support for Alexa devices, which could create a number of intriguing possibilities.
While the arrival of any one of the heavy-hitting trio of Google, Apple, or Amazon into the gaming industry in a major way would undoubtedly create waves for the established players. The arrival of all three within a year’s time constitutes a virtual polar shift in almost every aspect of how the gaming industry operates.
As these three titans continue to solidify their plans and talk to third party publishers, it will be fascinating to watch how Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo react in preparation for the fight of their lives.
As I have noted many times in articles and in various podcasts – you will not recognize the gaming landscape by the end of 2019.
Written by The Watchman
He’s also an actor, a reporter, a pro wrestling connoisseur, and some say he’s a cat whisperer.
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