Amazon India rolls out Prime Gaming as it refocuses local growth strategy
Amazon has launched its Prime Gaming service in India just one month after announcing plans to close its meal delivery business in a cost-cutting exercise.
Amazon India adds new gaming service as it refocuses growth strategy
Amazon Prime Gaming is a complementary service for existing Amazon Prime and Video subscribers. It features mobile, PC and Mac games - as well as in-game purchases at no additional cost – and new titles are added each month.
The gaming platform is the latest Amazon service to roll out in India as the e-commerce giant seeks to increase its share of the lucrative market.
India's gaming market is worth $2.6 billion and is set to almost quadruple to $8.6 billion by 2027.
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In September, it launched the Amazon Live streaming platform in a bid to attract India’s growing online population with live, interactive content created by influencers and content creators.
Last year it launched Amazon Pay in a bid to snatch a share of the surging digital payments market.
However, this latest launch comes just weeks after the business announced it would close a number of existing businesses and cut jobs as part of a global cost-cutting exercise.
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Amazon closed its meal delivery service Amazon Food, which was similar to Uber Eats, as well as winding down other specialised delivery services such as bulk deliveries to small businesses. Media reports suggested a number of planned launches, such as the Amazon Academy learning program, would also be shelved.
Amazon has had mixed success in India, where it has struggled to gain a strong foothold against homegrown rivals such as Reliance Industries, Tata Group and Walmart-owned Flipkart. It has also faced regulatory issues from Indian officials.
When announcing the closures, Amazon India had said it would focus on its core business offerings, such as groceries, consumer electronics and fashion.