Amazon has recently launched “Lumberyard,” its own cross-platform 3D game engine that’s free for download in its beta version.
“Lumberyard” gives developers the opportunity to build their own worlds and create realistic characters, as well as real-time effects, Ars Technica reported.
“Lumberyard” also brings in connectivity, allowing developers to connect their own games via Amazon’s Web Services (AWS) cloud.
The game engine also includes Twitch ChatPlay integration, where users can create various gameplay features with the use of a drag-and-drop visual scripting interface, Kotaku noted, and also allows the game to interact with its users in real-time.
The IRL feature means Twitch broadcasters can invite live viewers to join them and vote on the game outcomes, or gift player-broadcasters with power-ups.
A Twitch Joinin element also features multiplayer sessions allowing viewers to join alongside broadcasters with an invite.
“Lumberyard” can be downloaded for free with no subscription or seat fees, nor will developers be required to share revenue.
Together with “Lumberyard,” Amazon will also be launching “GameLift,” a service to help developers easily build backend servers to accommodate “deploying, operating, and scaling session-based multiplayer games.”
However, unlike “Lumberyard,” “GameLift will charge a small fee of $1.50 per additional thousand players beyond the first thousand users for the day, PC Games said.
With the launch of “Lumberyard,” Amazon is pitting itself against other long-standing game engine giants, including Unity and UnrealEngine, and newcomers like Autodesk’s Stingray. However, the commerce and cloud computing conglomerate will be pulling clout with its AWS behind it.
Amazon has been preparing its entrance into the game engine niche by aligning its interests with the gaming world since 2011. It opened its own Android-based games and app store that year, followed by the Amazon Game Studios the following year.
It also acquired Double Helix Games, as well as the livestream gaming company, Twitch in 2014.
