We’ve done our best and we’ve made a nice game. “We’re very cognizant of the fact that we’re new to the space and we’re new to the category. And while Castle stresses that making “Crucible” “watchable” was a paramount goal, he says Amazon is not making an immediate push for the sci-fi game to enter, for instance, the esport arena.

The company, a powerhouse in providing back-end game server tech, also owns streaming service Twitch. “The kind of game that we’re making is a gamer’s game, for sure,” says Louis Castle, who leads Amazon’s Relentless Studios in Seattle and is a longtime game designer/executive whose credits range from interactive adaptations of Disney’s “The Lion King” to the “Command & Conquer” series.Ĭastle knows that anything that carries the Amazon name won’t exactly be a little word-of-mouth entry. It’s entering a landscape dominated by the likes of “Fortnite,” “Overwatch” and “Apex Legends,” and intermixes the shooter-based gameplay of the battle royale genre, playing with more strategic, character-leveling elements found in multiplayer online battle arenas such as “League of Legends.” “Crucible,” available Wednesday for PCs, is a free-to-play, competitive, team-based online shooter, one that wants to endear itself to players with approachable tweaks to the familiar rather than a full upending of any genre. And that is why the company is being careful, says the game industry veteran overseeing the launch of the company’s first major video game, to not look as if it is wielding all of its might.

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