Amazon's game streaming service set for 2020

Amazon is in early stages of building an online game streaming service, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell The Information.

Major tech titans like Google, Microsoft, and EA are all working on new streaming services that beam games to phones, PCs, and consoles directly from the cloud. We tried Google's Project Stream service and found its ease-of-use and convenience to be the future of gaming. Now retail leviathan Amazon wants to enter the arena with its own cloud-based streaming framework that will leverage powerful servers to bring high-end gaming to all devices.

The service, which is still in a fledgling state and not expected to roll out until 2020 at the earliest, should enfold Amazon's Twitch ecosystem in unique ways. We expect various Twitch features to be wrapped into the service like game video broadcasting and viewing, as well as the Twitch game store and the friends and communications infrastructure. Amazon Prime members could also get a discount for the service.

Amazon's own Fire-branded hardware would likely serve as a conduit or receiver for the games streaming service. Its Fire TV box has a gaming edition that comes with a controller, and the set-top box plays specific games via the Amazon digital store.

It's also possible Amazon could make a Fire games console specifically for the service.

Sources say Amazon is currently courting developers and publishers with partnerships, deals and incentives to bring their games to the service.

Amazon has yet to confirm any news, and no release date or pricing has been announced.