Amazon recently announced ‘GameOn’, a cross-platform competitive gaming service for developers. It will allow for easy integration of competitions natively into their games on mobile/PC/Console through a set of APIs. GameOn is built on AWS cloud infrastructure and works on any operating system, giving developers the ability to scale quickly, while allowing them to invest more time in what they do best—designing great games. As competitive gaming continues to grow around the world, Amazon decided to move with the times with GameOn, which allows players to compete for in-game and real-world prizes funded by Amazon.
This also allows developers to drive engagement and increase monetization of their games. GameOn currently supports leaderboards, leagues, and multi-round competitions and gives developers the flexibility to create custom events such as local and regional competitions. Developers can also enable players and streamers to create their own user-generated competitions and invite participants, allowing players to connect with friends and expand their gaming network. Millennial Esports’ Eden Games, the developer behind some of the world’s most successful racing franchises including V-Rally and Test Drive Unlimited, uses Amazon GameOn to scale the size of the competitions they run in Gear.Club. “GameOn has made it easy for us to add leaderboards and tournaments in-game,” said Pascal Clarysse, CMO, Eden Games. “GameOn saved us months of development and a whole lot of maintenance and logistical overhead in the long run.”
Amazon GameOn will be powering competitions in highly anticipated sequels from Vector Unit and Lima Sky with the ability to win prizes in both Beach Buggy Racing 2 and a brand-new Doodle Jump title. In addition, new upcoming releases from Canvas Games, Superpower, PlaySide Studios, and Asmodee Digital will leverage GameOn technology to bring competitions to their fans. Developers can use GameOn APIs for free until May 1, 2018. After that date, the first 35,000 plays per month are free for a limited time, then developers will pay $0.003 per play. Physical prizing fulfilled by Amazon will only be available in the U.S. at launch.
“Game developers have consistently told us they are looking for ways to increase player engagement and retention,” said Marja Koopmans, Director, Amazon Competitive Gaming. “We built Amazon GameOn to give developers simple, yet powerful tools to foster community through competitive gameplay.”
More info can be found for developers at this link.
