Amazon has the potential to be a major player in the VR industry, and a report today suggests it’s now taking the steps to be just that.
Variety has spotted a job listing from the online retailing giant for the rather lengthy role of ‘Virtual Reality Experience Development Executive’. The company’s Studios segment is looking for someone to help create “innovative mixed reality experiences for distribution on Amazon Video.” The mention of mixed reality (MR) is somewhat confusing; Amazon could simply be using the term as an umbrella for reality-altering tech like VR, or it could specifically mean for MR tech like Magic Leap and HoloLens. We suspect the former is the more likely option.
This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise; we already knew the company was building its very own VR platform.
It sounds like the company will be looking to make its own VR stories, either through the production of 360 video or perhaps even fully VR content like what can be seen over at Oculus Story Studio. Amazon is looking for someone “interested in telling stories uniquely, bringing people together and expanding the definition of entertainment,” so you can basically expect to see some original form of VR video content rolling out on the company’s own streaming service, Amazon Prime Instant Video.
According to Variety sources, the company could also be launching its very own VR app similar to the ones that both Hulu and Netflix have released in the past. Prime already has its own exclusive series, so adding VR media to the mix would give the service one more reason for people to sign up.
That’s not all that Amazon has going on in the realm of VR, though. The company also has its very own videogame development engine, Lumberyard, which was recently updated to accommodate VR headsets. It will, of course, also be selling all major VR headsets at some point down the line, though right now it only offers the Oculus Rift and just through its American store. That should be changing next month, however.
As for Amazon’s primary function, its online store, we’d love to see that get a full VR conversion, but haven’t heard so much as a whisper of just yet.
