It's no secret that Amazon has jumped at every opportunity to get involved in the ever-lucrative gaming industry. From the creation of its own development studio in 2012, to its purchase of the Twitch online streaming platform in 2014, to the Twitch Prime service granting Amazon Prime subscribers monthly Twitch subscriptions, free games, DLC, and more. Even just last year, the company announced its Luna video game streaming service, in lieu of services like Google Stadia.
Now, with the popularity of social media and streaming platforms, as well as the ability to carefully edit clips and videos on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, Amazon has launched its own mobile game-oriented social media video-sharing app called GameOn. Previously, the app was only available on the Google Play store, but it is now available for download on iOS devices or in mobile browsers.
Amazon's GameOn seems to combine aspects of Twitch with the increasingly popular TikTok app, allowing users to not only view mobile game clips and videos posted by creators, but create, edit, and post their own with ease as well. The app seems to act completely separately from Twitch, does not require an Amazon or Twitch account to use, and is completely free to download.
GameOn users can either record their mobile gameplay footage for up to 5 minutes, or save just the last few minutes of their gameplay to capture that one moment that stands out from the rest. While recording their footage, users can activate their phone's microphone to add commentary, or add commentary afterwards in the editing process. GameOn even allows users to splice in videos of their own reactions to their videos and clips, and finally share their creations either with the world, or just with select individuals. The app also claims to support "over 1000 of the most popular mobile games," including hits like PUBG Mobile, Clash of Clans, and Pokemon GO.
Amazon's new app also allows all of its users to partake in special challenges with their videos and clips, tasking users with recording themselves setting a certain goal, such as reaching their max combo chain in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, or reaching a score of 100 or higher with any Arctic animal in Crossy Road. The challenge winners are determined by the most likes and views from other GameOn users, where the prize appears to be exposure and bragging rights.
While streaming platforms like Twitch tend to focus on games played on console and PC, it appears Amazon is intent on capturing the mobile gaming market with GameOn, making it easier than ever for mobile gamers to share and view their favorite moments. Although the video-sharing app has only just been released on iOS devices, it will be interesting to see where Amazon takes it in the future.
GameOn is available now on Android and iOS devices.