Amazon has been moving towards videogames and software product development for some time, with their own engine, Lumberyard, gaining ground as a development platform. The latest news to come from the company however, directly encompasses the push towards new content mediums brought about by the advent of affordable consumer virtual reality (VR).
In a new job advertisement on LinkedIn, Amazon’s content development subdivision, Amazon Studios, reveals the forthcoming hiring of a ‘Virtual Reality Experience Development Executive’. This position requires experience in either ‘premium television, film or game production’ as well as having ‘some experience with virtual reality technology’.
The advertisement details that the role will be an opportunity to ‘help develop innovative mixed reality experiences for distribution on Amazon Video’, and is very much leaning towards the side of non-interactive video in contrast to videogame development.
“The ideal candidate will be interested in telling stories uniquely, bringing people together and expanding the definition of entertainment. They will have brilliant artistic taste, a hunger for calculated risks and they will live slightly in the future already,” reads the description.
Though there are no specific projects mentioned – as would be expected – the advertisement makes reference to many of Amazon Video’s recently successful series, including Transparent, The Man in the High Castle, The New Yorker Presents, Hand of God and Catastrophe. Whether or not the role is related to these existing franchises or the development of new titles exclusively for the new medium of VR is not yet known.
Indeed, another popular series piloted by Amazon Video, Mr. Robot, recently received a VR prequel of its own. It could in fact be the case that Amazon Video is looking to bolster internal development of spin-off projects such as this. VRFocus will of course keep you updated with any future developments in Amazon Video’s VR plans.
