If Amazon is going to make it in video games, Hartmann thinks the company has to build out its own talent and open strong in the PC and console worlds.
Netflix recently discussed its long-term game plans, and Amazon has now followed suit in an interview with Variety.
Amazon Games VP Christoph Hartmann spoke with the outlet about the retail giant's goals for the medium, which effectively boil down to being the reverse Netflix. Where the streamer is taking its steps into games with mobile titles, Amazon is diving first into the PC and console market.
"It’s just much more opportunities for the market to be on the PC market, on the console market," said Hartmann. Not only does it best fit his past tenure at 2K and Rockstar, he offered that PC and console players take those titles more seriously than the mobile crowd.
"If the company would say, Christoph, let’s do mobile games, I would have to hire someone," he continued. "But I still believe it really, really is about triple-A games, because otherwise it’s a very hard market to get into."
Hartmann ultimately wants Amazon Games to be one of the "best publishers out there," which may involve making original games and ones based on Prime Video shows. While he wants to avoid being overly reliant on big franchises, he acknowledged potential transmedia opportunities with series like Tomb Raider and Spider-Man, both of which have shows in production for Prime Video.
"It does not need to be always that everything is mingled together, but it’s really one brand," he noted. "It’s a big part of transmedia for us. Obviously, we want to work much closer together, and we’ll be working much closer together with the different entertainment areas Amazon has."
Another part of Amazon Games' strategy? Keeping things in-house rather than buying third-party developers like Netflix has done. Hartmann revealed the publisher is "expanding heavily" with its internal studios in Montreal, Bucharest, and other locations.
He reiterated that Amazon is "very, very committed" to be a game publisher. And to any developer out there, Hartmann said the publisher is "looking for a lot of talent to grow internally."
Variety's full interview with Hartmann, which also includes his outlook on AI and Amazon Games' current lack of game releases, can be read here.
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