Amazon Fire TV control pad
Amazon has hired the creative minds behind Portal and Far Cry 2 to work on the gaming side of the new Amazon Fire TV set-top-box.
The Amazon Fire TV was finally unveiled last night as the online shopping giant’s much-anticipated entry into the living room entertainment space.
As well as enabling you to stream videos and music to your TV, Amazon is also pushing the Fire TV’s gaming credentials - as evidenced by the availability of a dedicated game controller.
Beyond that, Amazon has been on a recruitment drive for game development talent, which has already seen the acquisition of Killer Instinct and Strider developer Double Helix.
Now it’s emerged that one of the creators of the seminal Portal series has also been snapped up by Amazon.
Kim Swift led development on the first Portal at Valve, having come up with the concept along with a group of fellow DigiPen students. Swift also assisted in the development of Valve’s Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 multiplayer shooters.
Now she’s working as a 'Senior Designer at Amazon,' according to her LinkedIn profile.
Following the announcement of the Amazon Fire TV, Swift tweeted confirmation of her new role: "Thanks for the congrats, folks! It’s been killing me to say NOOOOOOTHING."
It won’t be Swift’s first experience with an Android-powered console. Her Airtight Games studio produced Soul Fjord for the Kickstarter-funded Ouya console.
It’s also emerged that Amazon has hired designer Clint Hocking, who was the the lead on Far Cry 2 and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory for Ubisoft.
It seems as if Amazon is keen for the Fire TV to be much more than a way to play Android games on your telly.
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Via: Kotaku