Eight years after entering the video game publishing market, Amazon (AMZN +2.02%) is launching its first major video game, Crucible , Wednesday.
In the free-to-play team shooter game, which takes a page from Fortnite, players choose from ten different hunter characters and three playable game modes.
IMAGE SOURCE: AMAZON.
Amazon will make money via in-game purchases, according to Bloomberg. The e-commerce giant is also working on New World, another battle type game slated for an August release.
While Amazon has been in the game-making business since 2014, Crucible marks the first blockbuster game from its gaming unit. Previously, the unit had been focused on making games for tablet devices and getting more people to sign up for its Prime subscription service.
The tech stock is entering a crowded market that counts heavy hitters like Microsoft (MSFT 0.60%), Nintendo (NTDOY 2.84%), and Activision Blizzard (ATVI +0.00%). If the title takes off with game players it could put Amazon in a position to take on the incumbents. After all, the more successful a game studio is the easier it becomes to lure talent.
It doesn't hurt that Amazon owns Twitch, the popular streaming gaming platform it acquired in 2014. Not to mention, millions of people are still sheltering at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic and are looking for ways to pass the time. Time will tell whether Amazon's first video game foray will be a success, or whether it will be drowned out among a sea of competition.
