Amazon Games Montreal Developing Shooter – Will it ever release?

Esports Industry
March 25, 2021
Jordan Ashley

Amazon is opening up another new game studio, this time bringing onboard multiple developers from the Rainbow Six Series. It seems like the online retailer is looking to get into first person shooters. Likely with an eye towards a competitive shooter. Amazon has made quite a few inroads into game development in the past, but none have really gotten all that far.

While Amazon Game Studios Montreal has brought some impressive talent, will they do much more than making vaporware?

Amazon Games Montreal

Amazon Game Studios Montreal

Amazon is setting up Amazon Game Studios Montreal. The studio is the fourth opened up by Amazon. It is going to be making AAA games, beginning with an online multiplayer title. It isn’t too far of a jump to assume they’ll be trying to enter the esports market with this new game.

This new studio has brought quite a few staff on board from Rainbow Six Siege. That shooter achieved quite a bit of popularity, so taking developers from there gets this project off to a decent start. The creative director of the new studio is Xavier Marquis, recently hired from Ubisoft, where he served in the same position. Prior to this, he worked on previous Tom Clancy games, like Ghost Recon. Going back even further, he has brief stints at Quantic Dream in the 2000s. He has a fairly long history, but at the highest level of development he’s only really been involved with Rainbow Six, which shows a very specific focus from this hire.

The other two big names are Romain Rimokh (Creative Director for R6) and Alexandre REMY (Brand & Esports Director for R6).

Clearly Amazon is attempting to make their shooter a success, hiring people who have only ever really made shooters. The main thing to consider, is if this will finally be the gaming project that Amazon succeeds with. They have a terrible track record, and there’s little reason to think any different of Amazon Game Studios Montreal.

Amazon’s Awful History with Game Development

This isn’t Amazon’s first foray into development. In the past they’ve opened up a number of studios, and even done this same move of recruiting high profile developers. They first revealed three titles, Breakaway, Crucible, and New World. Breakaway was cancelled in 2018, after a few years of development. Crucible was pushed back quite a few times, entered open beta, and shut down a month later. New World is still slated for release. They produced a video game tie-in for the Grand Tour, actually finishing it too! They then erased the game entirely when it got bad reviews.

In general, Amazon is prone to spending money establishing studios, bringing people in, promoting games, then doing nothing. It isn’t that they’re yet to have a hit, they’re yet to actually see a game’s release through in full. They’ve developed a habit of completely junking entirely developed games, with some disastrous effects for staff. In short, they have a terrible track record when it comes to game development.

It is strange as the company seems like a natural fit. They own Twitch, have the resources to dominate a competitive landscape, and are already positioned as a big part of gaming. They just don’t seem to be able to actually finish anything and make the jump to releasing it.

Amazon Games Montreal, Will it Ever Make Anything?

This news is exciting, especially for those who enjoyed Rainbow Six and are watching out for the next big shooter. Realistically though, there is little reason to even think a game will ever be released from Amazon Game Studios Montreal. The incoming CEO of Amazon has reiterated support for the game development part of the company, but none of the kind words are ever translated into actual game releases. Well, releases that can survive a few bad reviews without getting erased.

This new shooter could be promising. Amazon definitely has the heft to establish an esports scene for the game upon release. Until they produce something more than vaporware though, there is little reason to think the game will ever reach a stage in development where any of this matters.

Read next: Amazon Luna – the new gaming service makes its market debut

Comments are closed.