Earlier this year, Xbox chief Phil Spencer was interviewed shortly after it shared more details about the Xbox Series X. He went to share that it no longer views Nintendo and Sony as its biggest rivals in the next-generation gaming space. Instead, he noted that Google and Amazon were the ones it needed to look out for. Meanwhile, the latter already teased two titles in development: "New World" and "Crucible." Following several delays due to the COVID-19, the latter is finally ready to go live on Wednesday.

According to franchise lead Colin Johnson, the coronavirus lockdown was the first challenge after development shifted from the office environment to their homes. What followed was the release date being adjusted after the team brought up concerns about how consumers would perceive a high-profile launch amid the health crisis. Eventually, Amazon Game Studios settled for the aforementioned schedule.

Streamers will be playing Crucible LIVE starting tomorrow at 9am (6pm CEST)! Check out all the action at https://t.co/WBJnI8XTpZ—streamers have codes to give away, so you might get a head start code of your own. pic.twitter.com/Wru0jkH83B

— Crucible (@PlayCrucible) May 19, 2020

Gamers should know that "Crucible" follows a free-to-play model, but will include microtransactions similar to other popular titles. For now, it is only available on the PC with no word if it will also be available on other platforms such as the PS4, Xbox One, and Switch. However, it appears that gaming industry analysts believe that it arrived too late in a market already saturated with similar gameplay, as reported by CNN Business.

DFC Intelligence CEO David Cole stated: "These companies are like huge oil tankers that cannot exactly turn on a dime. They make a decision, it takes years to execute, and by the time the product comes out, the market has totally changed direction." He also added that "both 'Crucible' and the upcoming 'New World,' which got delayed again, are high-quality titles for 3 or 4 years ago."

Amazon is finally launching Crucible for PC
Gamers should know that "Crucible" follows a free-to-play model, but will include microtransactions similar to other popular titles. Photo: Amazon

Meanwhile, Relentless Studios head Louis Castle said: "We did think hard about what it meant to launch a game right now, and after a lot of reflection we decided that contributing the joy that comes from games was one small way we could give people something positive right now." Amazon Game Studios confirmed that "New World" has been moved to August 25, and seems to be another exclusive for the PC.

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