Amazon Prime is ramping up its activity in the video game subscription space – on Monday it gave more than 150 million Prime members free access to video games.
Prior to this, members had to link their Amazon account with one on Twitch, a live-streaming site that is also owned by Amazon.
In addition to streamlining this access for Prime members, Amazon also re-branded the gaming service from ‘Twitch Prime’ to ‘Prime Gaming’.
Prime Gaming includes a free Twitch channel subscription, free loot in games, and more than five free PC games every month. Prime Gaming is included within broader Amazon Prime subscriptions. In Australia, Amazon offers a free 30-day trial. After that it costs A$6.99 per month.
The revamping of Prime Gaming is one of many moves Amazon has made in the gaming space in recent years. In 2014 Amazon acquired Twitch, which is primarily used to live stream games.
Amazon has also channelled more investment into its game development business Amazon Games, which hit a rough start with ‘Crucible’ earlier this year.
The Verge reported that Amazon has plans to offer cloud gaming services later this year or in 2021.
