Amazon launch GameOn for developers

American electronic commerce and cloud computing giant Amazon has launched a cross-platform, competitive gaming service for developers enabling the integration of competitions into their games and offering real-world prizes fulfilled by Amazon or other in-game rewards.

Through a set of flexible APIs, and built on AWS cloud infrastructure, GameOn gives developers a powerful set of tools to drive engagement, increase monetisation, and bring more players in on the action.

GameOn currently supports leaderboards, leagues, and multi-round competitions, giving developers the flexibility to create custom events such as local and regional competitions.

“Game developers have consistently told us they are looking for ways to increase player engagement and retention,” said Marja Koopmans, Director, Amazon Competitive Gaming.

“We built Amazon GameOn to give developers simple, yet powerful tools to foster community through competitive gameplay.”

Developers can use GameOn APIs for free until May 1, 2018. After that date, the first 35,000 plays per month are free for a limited time, then developers will pay $0.003 per play.

Real-world prizing fulfilled by Amazon is only available in the U.S. at launch.