Amazon's (AMZN +0.25%) Twitch Prime gaming service is no more, in name at least

On Monday, the service relaunched as Prime Gaming, emphasizing that it is part of the company's durably popular Prime customer perks package.

Prime Gaming offers Prime members a raft of free games, plus access to in-game extras for numerous other titles. This month, more than 20 games are available for members to play. These can be downloaded and kept by users.

Image source: Getty Images.

Since being introduced in 2005, Prime has expanded from a limited set of perks and discounts to a sprawling suite of member benefits. These include access to a host of free-to-watch TV shows and movies on Prime Video, and free same-day shipping for the Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service, among other offerings.

The big retailer said in a statement that "Prime Gaming offers members all of the growing gaming benefits they had with Twitch Prime, but now as one of the core entertainment benefits of Prime."

Although Twitch, owned by Amazon subsidiary Twitch Interactive, is an immensely popular live-streaming game site, Prime has a larger user base. As of the beginning of this year, Prime had 150 million members worldwide. And it seems the company is on pace to hit the 200 million mark later this year, particularly with many people cloistered at home during the coronavirus outbreak.

Yet Amazon didn't start the week on a high note. The company's stock slid by 0.6% on Monday, in contrast to the gains enjoyed by the broader equities market.

Editor's Note: The headline of this article has been updated to clarify that the Twitch Prime name is being rebranded.