A couple of years ago when Amazon acquired Twitch for over a billion bucks, we just knew that at some point Amazon Games Studios titles would be integrated into the platform. It was the only natura;l course of action to be taken after all. And sure enough, after a long and excruciating wait, Amazon has announced the first set of games developed under its name which will see a deep integration with Twitch.
The announcement was made by the tech behemoth at TwitchCon. All the said titles will be powered by Lumberyard, the game engine powered by Amazon Web Services, that was debuted earlier this year. The new integration opens a window for gamers and content developers to do a lot more with the Amazon titles using Twitch.
Following the announcement gamers will be able to stream their broadcasts in real-time, overlaid with live stats, invite others to join matches and even allow viewers to wager points that are redeemable for in-game rewards.
The company’s first title under the Lumberyard game engine is a game called Breakaway, which is described as “a 4v4 mythological sport brawler built for fast action, teamwork, and live-streaming.” Apparently, the game is based on a capture the flag theme where players will fight to control the Relic across iconic mythological places like El Dorado, Atlantis, and Styx.
So what else will the integration with Twitch bring to the table?
The main feature of this integration is, by far, an easier and enhanced way for streamers to interact with their fans. There are going to be several overlays that will potentially allow gamers to make stats and other relevant information visible to their viewers. Any web authoring tool can be used to create custom HTML5 pages to control the information, layout and behavior of the overlay they use.
Players are also given a base loyalty points which they can use to bet and win in-game rewards. This feature is called Stream+. To get started, just head over to the Stream+ Breakaway channel (Twitch.tv/PlayBreakaway/StreamPlus). After this, you can earn more points by staying longer in the channel, participating in interactive polls, and, most importantly, betting on the outcomes of matches.
This is just the start of what could be a game-changer in the streaming sector. Amazon has also announced two more titles that will be built specifically with Twitch in mind, namely, New World and Crucible. The idea here is to attract game-makers to use Amazon’s new game engine, as opposed to its rivals.
