Amazon bets big on Twitch generation with new game line-up

Amazon Game Studios has unveiled three new PC games, and it's clear the developer is gunning for the Twitch generation. 

As the studio notes on its website, its mission is to create games for "players, viewers and broadcasters." It's a mantra that fed into the creation of its proprietary Lumberyard game engine, which features deep Twitch and Amazon Web Service integration. 

With that in mind, all three games are first and foremost multiplayer affairs. The first, Breakaway, is pitched as a 4v4 mythological sport brawler, "built for fast action, teamwork, and livestreaming."

As expected, Breakaway is powered by Amazon Lumberyard and will integrate directly with Twitch -- which Amazon acquired for $1 billion back in August 2014. 

Notably, the game will introduce new ways for the Twitch community to interact with broadcasters, allowing streamers to customize their broadcasts with real-time stat overlays, invite followers into matches, conduct live polls, and create wagers that viewers can bet on using loyalty points. 

The second game to be revealed was New World, a massively multiplayer open-ended sandbox title in which players must to work with, or against, each other to thrive in a hostile, monster-riddled realm.

Although no footage was shown, Amazon says it will feature emergent gameplay and rich-social features. Twitch integration was talked-up yet again, with Amazon promising broadcaster-led events, achievements, and rewards. 

Finally, Amazon pulled the curtain back on Crucible, another multiplayer effort that pits 12 players against each other, and the world itself. 

Again, Crucible is being tailored specifically for Twitch streaming, and will give one additional player the chance livestream battles, trigger events, and interacting with viewers in as of yet unspecified ways. 

Speaking about the new line-up's extensive Twitch integration, Mike Frazzini, VP of Amazon Games, said the streaming service "has inspired us to think about games in a new way."

"[We asked ourselves] 'what would it look like to create a game with broadcasting and viewing in mind from the very start?',"  he added.

"It's clear the experiences that fans have outside the game, from viewing and broadcasting to live events and eSports, are huge sources of entertainment."