Amazon is said to have been developing a a science-fiction shooter game called Crucible in May, along with a cloud gaming platform under the code name Project Tempo.

According to NYTimes.com, the internet giant is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the effort, with its first original game, Crucible, to be released next month.

Next month, Amazon is also set to ship New World, a “massively multiplayer online” game in which thousands of players occupy a persistent fantasy realm based on an alternate 17th century.

The company has reportedly developed a game processing engine called Lumberyard and hopes to harness the power of its cloud computing services to deliver online experiences, such as multiplayer battles in the games.

Amazon is also working on new casual games that broadcasters on its popular Twitch streaming service can play alongside viewers in real time.

Amazon is already a major producer of streaming series and films.

Over the last decade, video games have blossomed into one of the lucrative forms of entertainment. Gaming is expected to generate more than $160 billion in revenue in 2020, making the business more than twice the size of the global recorded music industry and worldwide film box office combined.