In this era of gaming, which is abundant in subscription services and memberships, it can be a bit overwhelming to wade through the multitudes of options and select the best service for oneself. Some of the more prominent and well-known services include Nintendo Switch Online, Xbox Game Pass, and Playstation Plus Premium. However, there is a service from Amazon that is not quite as well known which could prove to be beneficial to many gamers because of its additional perks and benefits.
Amazon's secret weapon in terms of integrating into the world of gaming is its membership dubbed Amazon Prime Gaming, which has been garnering plenty of attention lately due to its latest innovative marketing strategy. According to a report from Meet Glimpse, searches for Amazon Prime Gaming grew 133% in the past year with 863k searches per month which may be in part due to its accessibility.
Now is The Time For Prime Gaming
For those who already have an Amazon Prime subscription, they may already be aware that they are automatically given access to Prime Video, Prime Reading, and Amazon Music. For Amazon users that utilize Twitch, they are also given Twitch Prime in which users are able to subscribe to a streamer and view their content ad-free. Notably, Prime Gaming also comes with a Prime subscription, which makes Prime Gaming a great deal compared to other standalone game subscription services.
Every month, free PC games are made available via Prime Gaming, along with exclusive in-game content. For July, these titles include Fishing: North Atlantic and Maniac Mansion. In-game content shouldn't be overlooked either, as currently subscribers can redeem skins and loot for numerous generally well-received games. This month that list pertains to Call of Duty: Vanguard, Season 4 rewards for Call of Duty: Warzone, NBA 2K, Fall Guys, Red Dead Online, Grand Theft Auto Online, and many more.
Giving away games for free is part of Amazon's marketing strategy for building hype, and typically, the rollout for each month will have perks for a variety of popular games. Amazon is partnering more with EA Sports now, so users should also expect more collaborative content in that regard. The most seen games on the monthly lists appear to be the Call of Duty franchise, League of Legends, Dead by Daylight, and Amazon's own open-world MMO New World.
The latter was released on September 28, 2021, and was nominated for Best Multiplayer at the Game Awards. At the moment, it is playable through a 30-day free trial or a one-time purchase of $40. The multinational company is making sure to include plenty of free and PC-exclusive items for New World in its Prime Gaming services, which could be of interest to fans of the games or the MMO genre.
Between July 12-13, over 30 games with Amazon Prime were up for grabs with no additional cost, as a part of the company's Prime Day deals. Somewhat recent releases and large games like Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, Star Wars Jedi Academy, and Need for Speed Heat could be added to a player's library to keep forever. Future deals like these will almost surely come about again, likely around Cyber Monday, Black Friday, and the end of the year holiday season, so now would be an optimal time to keep tabs on Prime Gaming in case titles like these become free again.
This year appears to be a good opportunity for Amazon and the gaming community to benefit one another. If the business continues to roll out large titles for free, it could be that Amazon Prime Gaming will be able to compete head-to-head with the likes of Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass and other services in the coming future.