Breakaway is described by Amazon as a “4v4 mythological sport brawler built for fast action, teamwork, and live-streaming.” Each round of play has combatants summoning “persistent buildables onto the playing field that dynamically alter the game.” These items can do everything from protecting teammates to opening up new routes on the map.
The game makes use of the Amazon Lumberyard engine, which is integrated directly with Twitch, and allows your audience to exert influence over your games with the “Broadcaster Match Builder” tool. This lets anyone easily become a combatant in their favorite streamers’ matches, giving them their own shot at exposure.
You can also customize which statistics are visible on-screen, and can utilize the new Stream+ feature to give viewers “loyalty points,” which will be tallied on a leaderboard, though it’s not clear if they will have a more meaningful (or tangible) purpose.
“We’ve hired some of the best creators in the world to build games that we hope will be as fun to watch as they are to play,” said Amazon Games vice president Mike Frazzini. “We’re excited to reveal a first look at our titles, and invite fans and broadcasters to share what they think and join us in shaping the development of our games.”
Yes, the statement used the plural “titles” — Breakaway wasn’t the only game Amazon announced. Also unveiled were New World — an MMO taking place in an “evolving” sandbox world that features supernatural elements and, of course, Twitch integration, as well as Crucible. The latter game is an asymmetrical multiplayer title that has an extra player influencing the match as everyone else battles to the death.
Breakaway is in development at Amazon Game Studios Orange County, which was acquired by Amazon two years ago. The team previously worked on the rebooted Killer Instinct before handing off subsequent development to Iron Galaxy. You can sign up for the game’s alpha test waitlist right now. Doing so requires a Twitch account.
