Former Amazon Games boss explains why it couldn't compete with Valve's Steam: "Goliath lost" - Related to games, breeding, steam:, 2025, world

Former Amazon Games boss explains why it couldn't compete with Valve's Steam: "Goliath lost"

A former boss of Amazon Games has detailed why the enterprise couldn't compete with Valve's Steam platform for PC sales.

Ethan Evans was VP of Prime Gaming at Amazon until September 2020, and in a recent post on LinkedIn he detailed how Amazon "failed multiple times to disrupt the game platform Steam".

"We were at least 250 times bigger, and we tried everything," he wrote. "But ultimately, Goliath lost."

Amazon tried three times to enter the "online-game-store market", mentioned Evans. The first was by acquiring the small PC games store Reflexive Entertainment and trying to scale it, but this "went nowhere".

The second, after Amazon bought Twitch, was to create its own PC games store and utilise the Twitch audience for sales. "Our assumption was that gamers would naturally buy from us because they were already using Twitch," expressed Evans. "Wrong."

The third effort from Amazon was its Luna streaming service, which competed with Google's own ill-fated Stadia - that shut down in January 2023. Luna remains live, but Evans admitted neither Amazon nor Google's efforts "gained significant traction". "The whole time, Steam dominated despite being a relatively small enterprise (compared to Amazon and Google)," he unveiled.

So what went wrong? "The mistake was that we underestimated what made consumers use Steam," noted Evans. "It was a store, a social network, a library, and a trophy case all in one. And it worked well."

He continued: "At Amazon, we assumed that size and visibility would be enough to attract end-people, but we underestimated the power of existing user habits. We never validated our core assumptions before investing heavily in solutions. The truth is that gamers already had the solution to their problems, and they weren't going to switch platforms just because a new one was available.

"We needed to build something dramatically advanced, but we failed to do so. And we needed to validate our assumptions about our clients before starting to build. But we never really did that either.

"Just because you are big enough to build something doesn't mean people will use it."

Amazon still has its Prime Gaming subscription, which this month includes BioShock 2 Remastered and Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

And after publishing multiple MMORPGs, Amazon Games' next release will be King of Meat from ex-Lionhead and Media Molecule developers.

Steam, meanwhile, has just seen its concurrent player numbers peak once again this month, hitting [website] million online consumers.

Steam's other big competitor, the Epic Games Store, also now has more players than ever.

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Frog breeding management sim Mudborne gets a release date this March on World Frog Day

I generally avoid using the word 'darling' as an adjective because it makes you sound like an bourgeois playwright two bottles of sherry deep into a nervous breakdown. Lord Of The Rings tainted the word 'precious' forever, and the term 'wholesome' has been Cronenberged to hideous effect. 'Cute' is too pat, I use 'adorable' too much, and you cannot make me say 'Kawaii' under any circumstances.

All that noted, management sim Mudborne makes my eyes go wide and my heart swell like a marshmallow dropped in a pond full of excellent frogs. It's releasing March 20th on World Frog Day, and a portion of the profits will go to amphibian, wetland, and environmental charities. Have a Steam demo. God I love that soundtrack.

It's from Apico studio TNgineers. That was a beekeeping sim, and Mudborne is a "spiritual successor of sorts", focusing on genetic manipulation and "generational puzzles". There's the frog breeding management aspect, but there's also a dreamy exploration angle, as you discover more about the world through your frog splicing. Here are some attributes:

BE THE FROG Finally reach your life goals of becoming an actual frog!

Catch (and eat) delicious bugs. Have another, treat yourself.

TINY LITTLE FROGS YOU CAN CATCH AND CHASE GENETIC ENGINEERING Genetically modify frogs to create weird and wonderful new species.

Grow and cultivate mushrooms with all sorts of strange effects.

Some of the frogs have tiny hats!!! GOTY contender???? SMALL FROG, BIG POND Utilise your frogs to uncover secrets and power your machines.

Hop between the waking + dreaming worlds to solve puzzles.

Restore the pond and its inhabitants, and find out what happened.

This feels like a good time to recommend the beautiful psychedelic artwork from the board game Cosmic Frog.

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Guide: Upcoming PS5 Games for March and April 2025

February was a wild month for PS5 with the release of Monster Hunter Wilds, but it doesn't get any quieter in March and April.

The big new releases include co-op game Split Fiction, open world epic Assassin's Creed Shadows, and promising RPG debut Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. But honestly, there are a dozen other titles we could have highlighted here, such is the strength of the release calendar this year.

Josef Fares and his Hazelight team return to PS5 with another outrageously varied co-op adventure, this time spanning the worlds of fantasy and sci-fi. One of the big highlighs here is you'll only need to own one copy to play with friends!

From the inventive minds behind the award-winning It Takes Two comes an original and completely unpredictable new co-op action adventure. In Split Fiction, you and your co-op partner will become Mio and Zoe, two writers trapped in a simulation of their own imaginations after a high-tech attempt to steal their creative ideas goes badly wrong. This pair of strangers will need to learn to work together in order to escape with their memories and stories intact. Prepare to deal with dragons and trolls in Zoe's fantasy worlds and cyber ninjas and robo-parking attendants in Mio's sci-fi creations. Together, you'll need to overcome any obstacle thrown your way to make it through this weird, wild and wholly unexpected tale of friendship.

Sony's annual baseball sim rarely gets much recognition, but is always a big-seller year after year. This edition is adding some new gameplay wrinkles, an expanded Road to the Show, and even more activities to Diamond Dynasty.

Forge your baseball journey. Ignite your passion and build your path to greatness, from high school right to the Hall of Fame. Take on returning fan-favourite modes, updated with new ways to play, and connect with iconic baseball stars . Built by baseball fans, for baseball fans, MLB The Show 25 capabilities an extensive suite of gameplay improvements and quality of life enhancements that make it the most comprehensive Major League Baseball title to date.

After multiple delays, Assassin's Creed Shadows will finally parkour to PS5 in March. Featuring two contrasting protagonists and another enormous open world to explore, this one could keep you occupied all year long.

Become a lethal shinobi Assassin and a powerful legendary samurai as you explore a beautiful open world in a time of chaos. Switch seamlessly between two unlikely allies as you discover their common destiny. Master complementary playstyles, create your shinobi league, customise your hideout, and usher in a new era for Japan.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - 24th April.

Ignore the annoying name: this RPG from French developer Sandfall Interactive looks like one to watch. With impressive production values and a classic Final Fantasy flavour, we're tipping this to be something of a sleeper hit.

Once a year, the Paintress wakes and paints upon her monolith. Paints her cursed number. And everyone of that age turns to smoke and fades away. Year by year, that number ticks down and more of us are erased. Tomorrow she’ll wake and paint “33.” And tomorrow we depart on our final mission - Destroy the Paintress, so she can never paint death again. We are Expedition 33. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a ground-breaking turn-based RPG with unique real-time mechanics, making battles more immersive and addictive than ever. Explore a fantasy world inspired by Belle Époque France in which you battle devastating enemies.

More Upcoming PS5 Games for March And April 2025.

There's so much more to look forward to, of course! Here's a tasty selection of upcoming physical games (and occasionally accessories) that are patiently waiting for you to snap 'em up.

PS5 Accessories for March And April 2025.

Here are some upcoming intriguing accessories for your PS5:

If you need to stock up on the essentials for your PS5 or PS4, such as new controllers, PS Plus subscriptions or SSDs for more storage, make sure to check out our dedicated buying guides:

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