Amazon Takes In-Game Purchasing To PC, Mac, Browser Games

You’ll soon be able to buy in-game content with your Amazon account, thanks to a new Amazon service. Amazon is wooing game developers with a service for making in-app purchases on games for Mac, PC, and browser-based games. Game developers get the benefit of Amazon’s stable purchasing infrastructure, while gamers (who already have Amazon accounts) can buy content without setting up a new account or re-entering credit card info.

Amazon In-Game Purchasing Description

Who says Amazon doesn't have a sense of humor? Image credit: Amazon

In-App Purchasing joins a stable of Amazon services meant to help game developers while directing gamers and purchases to Amazon. Services like Game Connect and Game Circle provide support for displaying achievements, leaderboards, and friend lists, as well as syncing games across platforms via Whispersync. Interestingly, the In-App Purchasing service will make in-app items available on Amazon.com. As a result, in-app items can appear in wish lists and best seller lists. As if the line between physical and digital isn’t already blurring.

Joshua Gulick

Joshua Gulick

Josh cut his teeth (and hands) on his first PC upgrade in 2000 and was instantly hooked on all things tech. He took a degree in English and tech writing with him to Computer Power User Magazine and spent years reviewing high-end workstations and gaming systems, processors, motherboards, memory and video cards. His enthusiasm for PC hardware also made him a natural fit for covering the burgeoning modding community, and he wrote CPU’s “Mad Reader Mod” cover stories from the series’ inception until becoming the publication editor for Smart Computing Magazine.  A few years ago, he returned to his first love, reviewing smoking-hot PCs and components, for HotHardware. When he’s not agonizing over benchmark scores, Josh is either running (very slowly) or spending time with family.