Rumor: Amazon Working On Its Own Game Streaming Service

We know that Amazon has been working on getting more involved in the game industry over the past few years, acquiring a number of studios (including Killer Instinct developer Double Helix Games) and adding game-streaming service Twitch to its fold to try and fit more into its landscape. But now it’s planning an even bigger move, as a new report suggests it’s working on its own game streaming service.

Two insiders recently spoke with The Information about the service, which isn’t likely to roll out until sometime in 2020 at the earliest. Word has it that the mega-online retailer is already in talks with a number of publishers to bring several of their hit titles to the service when it arrives.

The company had previously acquired GameOn, a cloud-based tool for developers to utilize features within their gae, such as leaderboards and other competitive items. It might be using some variation of that to try and get its game-streaming service off the ground.

Amazon isn’t the only company behind this initiative- there’s been a lot of talk as of late about game-streaming services launching sometime in the future. Google has been tinkering with the idea, pairing with Ubisoft to provide players with a streaming model of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey– a strategy that has met with great success.

There’s also Microsoft, who may be working on two new variations of its next Xbox, one with traditional features and another that works strictly as a streaming model for a much more budgetable price. The company has been looking into various options, but nothing has been confirmed just yet.

And, of course, Sony currently has its PlayStation Now service for both PlayStation 4 and PC, which allows users to play some PS2 and PS3 games on-demand while also downloading select PlayStation 4 games to their console.

Amazon would no doubt be a huge player in the game streaming arena, particularly if it can find a way to incorporate Twitch services into it. Alas, it hasn’t said anything officially, so we’ll take this report with a grain of salt. Still, don’t be surprised if they announce something later this year in an effort to get the ball rolling.

(Hat tip to GamesIndustry International for the scoop!)

Would you be interested in an Amazon-based game streaming service? Let me know on Twitter at @TheDCD!