Amazon is well-known as an online store, but it does more than delivering the good we order online. Amazon has been developing original TV shows, and it is the owner of the leading platform for streaming video games, Twitch, among other things. On Tuesday, Amazon announced that Crucible, a new free-to-play PC game, will roll out later this May.
Amazon's games have been mostly focused on tablets, and Crucible is one of their big-budget games. It is a science fiction third-person that mixes some of the best game designs, including Dota 2, Fortnite, and Apex Legends. This combination sounds impressive as the games are some of the most competitive titles, which could make Crucible among the dominant games on Twitch once it finally rolls out.
The game will feature different characters who have specific abilities. However, these characters are not heroes as much as Amazon is concerned.
It also comes with three distinct modes. First is the Heart of the Hives, which will be a 4 vs.4 mode putting two teams against enemies who are controlled by AI. The second one is Alpha Hunters, this mode will put 8 teams of two players against each other in royale-contest battle, and the team which will be left standing is the winner. The third and final mode is Harvester Command, this mode sounds like League of Legends and Dota 2, and it will put two teams of eight players against each other to collect “essence.”
Crucible sounds like it is trying to have something for everyone, but we won't say that it is the first of it's the only one doing this. It does sound like it is similar to the new Riot Game's Valorant, a game that mixes some elements from Overwatch and has its key design similar to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
Both of these games are for PC (at least before they announce console versions) and they are free to play. There is no doubt that they are likely going to win the hearts of many pro players and streamers to capture lots of views on Twitch.
The major difference between them is Crucible is owned by Amazon, the owners of Twitch, and this may give it several marketing advantages, plus the creators of Crucible seem to target both competitive and casual players while Valorant in only targeting the competitive audience.Crucible is launching later this May, while Valorant is expected to roll out in the summer. But both games will definitely vie for attention from Twitch users.
Crucible went into development in 2014, but it was formally announced in 2016. Amazon Game Studios have been quiet about the game since then, and it is only last month that we received reports that the game was scheduled to be released in March 2020, but the release was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, pushed to April and then further to May.
Frank Castle, the head of Amazon Game's Studio told New York Times that the game has three modes and they are expecting to roll it out to the world in a few weeks. The decision to delay the release was to avoid putting a lot of pressure on the developers, especially during these tough times, Frank told NYT.
In 2016, when Amazon first announced Crucible, the company was planning to integrate it with Twitch, which would give the game a unique edge, letting one player stream live as sort of a master overseeing matches. Right now, we are not sure if the feature remains as Amazon did not mention it in its press release.
In addition to Crucible, Amazon will also be releasing another big-budget game called the New World. The game is designed as an MMO (massively multiplayer online), and it is expected to roll out in August this year. However, there isn't a lot known about it, so we will have to wait for more information from Amazon.
