Amazon's Unified Strategy for Games, Movies, and TV

Amazon has announced the incorporation of its Luna video game streaming service into Prime Video, allowing Prime subscribers to play games directly through the video app. According to Jeff Gattis, general manager for Amazon Luna and Amazon Game Studios, this move is part of the company's strategy to unify its gaming divisions and target a huge, unaddressed audience for video games. Gattis explains that Amazon had three separate gaming divisions operating independently, but now everything is organized under him, with Luna as the gaming platform and Amazon Game Studios as the development platform. Games produced by Amazon Game Studios will be published on Luna, with some titles available on other platforms as well. Gattis believes in the importance of exclusives, stating that they are crucial for building a gaming platform. He notes that the company is focusing on easier games for a mass audience, citing the success of Hogwarts Legacy on Luna. Amazon is also trying to address the casual audience through a concept called GameNight on Luna, where players use their phone as a controller to play titles like trivia games or board game adaptations. By integrating Luna into Prime, Gattis says Amazon has a ready-made audience of hundreds of millions of Prime customers, providing an opportunity to target huge growth in emerging markets for gaming. He emphasizes that the economics don't work for incumbents in emerging markets, but Amazon's Prime membership model provides a unique opportunity to make gaming more accessible and grow the market. In terms of payment for developers of Luna games, Gattis says that deals tend to vary, but Amazon is licensing third-party content for the service and keeping it on for longer. He also wants to focus on a transmedia approach, forging closer ties between Luna games and Amazon's film and TV portfolio. Gattis notes that Amazon has more games in development than at any point in its history, including AAA titles and innovative experiences. The company is also publishing the Tomb Raider titles and has acquired the rights to the James Bond game, although nothing has been decided regarding the next Bond sequel. With the integration of Luna into Prime, Gattis is bullish about the future, citing a significant increase in active users after the relaunch of Luna with GameNight experiences.