{"id":1470,"date":"2026-06-04T17:01:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T17:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=1470"},"modified":"2026-06-04T17:01:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T17:01:27","slug":"amazon-gaming-strategy-james-bond-snoop-dogg-luna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=1470","title":{"rendered":"Amazon\u2019s new plan for games: James Bond and AI Snoop Dogg"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Amazon\u2019s gaming strategy has never really been clear. It\u2019s been very active in the space: acquiring Twitch<\/a>, launching its Luna cloud gaming service nearly six years ago<\/a>, investing heavily in MMOs during the peak of live-service wave, and having access to a huge slate of franchises through Prime Video and the MGM Studios library<\/a>. Late last year, the company announced a major pivot, relaunching Luna with a focus on party games<\/a> you can play with just your phone as a controller \u2014 including an AI-powered game starring Snoop Dogg as a judge \u2014 and basically jumping ship on MMOs<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

At the time, it looked like a retreat, but Amazon says that isn\u2019t the case. \u201cThe reality is nothing could be further from the truth, but we haven\u2019t really got out and said that,\u201d Jeff Gattis, the GM of Amazon Games, tells The Verge<\/em>. And while the company says it has a new, more focused strategy in place, its gaming efforts are still spread across several different pillars.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\"A<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A screenshot of <\/em>Courtroom Chaos: Starring Snoop Dogg.<\/em><\/figcaption>Image: Amazon Game Studios<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Part of that newfound focus comes from a structural change, as the company now has what it believes is a simpler approach. \u201cLuna is our gaming platform, Amazon Game Studios is our development and publishing platform,\u201d Gattis says. He acknowledges that it\u2019s not \u201centirely unlike\u201d the approach at Xbox, which has an Xbox platform division and Xbox Game Studios. And given Amazon\u2019s push for cloud-streamed party games you can play on just a phone, Gattis is aware of the similarities to Netflix\u2019s strategy, too \u2014 which has also had its twists and turns<\/a>. Until recently, Amazon has tried to go after \u201ccore\u201d gamers, but Gattis says that part of the market is \u201cwell-served\u201d by things like PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam. Amazon isn\u2019t abandoning that group, but it also sees an opportunity to appeal to a more casual audience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Gattis joined Amazon in March 2025 after many years as an exec at Xbox. Gattis says he came to Amazon because he saw a lot of opportunity. \u201cI, for one, fail to accept that Amazon, as one of the largest consumer entertainment companies in the world, can\u2019t break into the number-one revenue segment of consumer entertainment,\u201d he says. Since he joined, Amazon consolidated its three separate gaming groups \u2014 Prime Gaming, Amazon Game Studios, and Luna \u2014 into one organization. \u201cNone of these groups were working with one another,\u201d Gattis says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

For Luna, a select batch of games are included with an Amazon Prime subscription (including its GameNite party games) and you can pay $9.99 per month for Luna Premium, which has a bigger selection of titles. As for Amazon Game Studios, its biggest known games in the works are the remake Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis<\/em> and Tomb Raider: Catalyst<\/em>, a new entry in the series. Both are currently set to launch in 2027. And Amazon\u2019s involvement with games extends to a live-action Tomb Raider<\/em> show for Prime Video<\/a> starring Sophie Turner as Lara Croft<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\"A<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Amazon\u2019s bet on putting Tomb Raider<\/em> everywhere \u2014 there are also a handful of titles available through Luna \u2014 indicates where the company sees things going. \u201cWe really believe that this line between TV and video games is increasingly coming together\u201d such that \u201cI think every major IP is going to have to have a video game story\u201d as part of its go-to-market strategy, Gattis says. He also points to Amazon\u2019s rights deals with sports leagues like the NBA and the NFL, saying there are \u201call kinds\u201d of \u201ccompanion-type games\u201d that it can make.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Now that Amazon has creative control over James Bond<\/a>, that seems like another obvious franchise for the company to build more games around, especially after the success<\/a> of IO Interactive\u2019s recently-released 007 First Light<\/em><\/a>. IO Interactive self-published First Light<\/em> because of a deal worked out before Amazon took over the franchise, though Amazon has a \u201cstake in the game\u201d and the company is talking with IO about when to bring it to Luna, according to Gattis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cThat is exhibit A of going to Prime Video, seeing the Bond films, playing the video game, buying merchandise on [Amazon].com,\u201d Gattis says. Amazon has the rights to \u201call future Bond titles\u201d and that \u201cI think you can expect [the next Bond game to be] an Amazon Game Studios-published game,\u201d Gattis says. He won\u2019t confirm yet whether IO will be the developer of any potential sequel. \u201cAs the dust settles on this one, we\u2019ll start to pop our heads up and figure out, okay, what does [the next Bond game] look like? Who\u2019s the right developer for it? What\u2019s the right storyline? All those things.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Right now, Amazon has 10 to 15 games in development, according to Gattis, who says that \u201cprobably 33 to 40 percent\u201d are AAA titles. But those big-budget games aren\u2019t necessary for the new audience Amazon is after with its new Luna games. The Snoop Dogg game came together in \u201cunder a year,\u201d Gattis says. Amazon is also \u201cbig believers\u201d in generative AI both for AI-powered games like the Snoop Dogg title but also how it can help with development more broadly. \u201cTo be clear, these are human-made games, but using AI as tools,\u201d he says. \u201cWe haven\u2019t cut any people because of AI. We\u2019re just using it to try to accelerate and try to make different types of games.\u201d (Crystal Dynamics, which is developing the Tomb Raider<\/em> reboot, has admitted<\/a> that it used \u201cAI-assisted tools\u201d during development.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Scale is in no way a guarantee of success. Netflix has the biggest subscription business in streaming but hasn\u2019t made much of a dent in games. And even though Amazon seems more focused than before, it still seems to be trying a bunch of different things to see what sticks, and that\u2019s going to take time to play out. Gattis, however, is confident in Amazon\u2019s approach. \u201cDon\u2019t sleep on Amazon in this space.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Follow topics and authors<\/strong> from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.<\/span><\/p>\n