With everything that’s been going on with Amazon Games, it seems they’re still working on new projects.
As shared on the GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit by user Celo-Zaga, Amazon has a job opening for a Senior Game Engine developer in their studio in Montreal. The job listing comes with this description:
“As a Senior Game Engine Developer, you are an integral part of the game engine team, providing the essential link between gameplay and Unreal 5. Your technical expertise ranges from managing core engine systems to improving performance and optimising low-level systems. You work easily with cross-functional teams, sharing your technical knowledge and encouraging innovation. Overall, your contribution is essential to ensuring an exceptional multiplayer experience.
Joining Amazon Games Montréal means taking part in the foundation of a new video game studio that operates at a focused, human scale; participating in the creation of a new intellectual property, a fresh take on the AAA multiplayer online battle arena game (yes, a MOBA); and collaborating with a team of well-rounded experts who have a great time working together. Come build the future with us!”
Amazon has picked up a reputation similar to Google and Apple, one of those bigger companies who decided to suddenly enter the video game industry, but lacking the willingness to commit and meet gamers where they want. For all their faults, no one will deny that Microsoft and Sony have firmly entrenched themselves in the business in ways that these other conglomerates have not.
But perhaps it would be better to view Amazon in the same light as Chinese conglomerates in this business, like TenCent or NetEase. They, too, have entered the gaming business by investing in games and studios, and making original studios and games themselves. Amazon’s limited success in this market, which they freely admit to, does not mean that they will never find their way in the industry and find that success.
As for their choice of genre, several MOBAs emerged attempting to piggyback from League of Legends’ and DOTA’s success in the late 2010s to early 2020s, but few players survived from that today. It’s quite telling that one of those MOBAs, Gigantic, shut down in 2017, and got revived last year, only to once again dwindle mere months in.
But then again, Valve are themselves seeing a lot of interesting in their upcoming MOBA, Deadlock. Perhaps Amazon is thinking along the same lines, and this title may also be a hero shooter, or have elements from more popular genres. In any case, we’ll see if Amazon gets far enough to announce this title in the future.
