Amazon gets serious about social games, calls out for developers

The Facebook gaming arena is about to welcome a new gladiator: Amazon. The household name of online retailers (and e-readers) is officially pulling out all the stops for its inevitable entrance into the space, openly and internally calling out for a team of designers and developers.

Since taking on veteran tabletop RPG (roleplaying game) designer Jonathan Tweet for a mysterious project, Reuters reports that signs have appeared in the kitchen of Amazon's Seattle campus that unveil a "Social Games Group." A poster in the kitchen area of the office reads, "The Group is growing fast! We're actively looking," according to Reuters.

It seems that Amazon is primarily looking for software engineers and Flash developers, most likely referring to Adobe Flash, the software through which almost all Facebook games are created. Amazon has reportedly been eying up social gaming since May of this year, calling out for senior level game designers.

Since Amazon hired Tweet for a mysterious project, that's all we knew about the upcoming social games effort from the company. Unfortunately, we still know very little, which leaves us with wild speculation (how lovely). While Amazon is looking strictly for software engineers and Flash developers, we have a feeling this project will be much larger than just pumping out a few games.

Amazon didn't become one of the largest Internet companies in the world without thinking big, so who's to say the company doesn't have equally lofty ambitions for its social gaming efforts? I mean, this is a company has enjoyed success and ubiquity that even the biggest name in social gaming aspires to. That said, it's entirely possible that Amazon looks to create a platform of its very own, complete with games developed in house. Call that an educated guess, or my wild dreams of slaying dragons attached to awesome deals on otherwise pricey cell phone cases and magazine subscriptions.

[Image Credit: Slacktory]

Are you excited to hear what Amazon is up to in social games? Do you think the company is working on its own platform to compete with Facebook and Google+, or just some good old games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.