TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the trending stories in gaming. In today’s news: Epic Games founder praises cross-play; Amazon lays off dozens of game development staff; and 83% of gamers interested in new cloud gaming services.

Epic Games founder praises cross-play

Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney has discussed the potential of cross play, consumers playing the same multiplayer game across rival platforms with distinct online ecosystems, and it being a vital component of Fortnite's major commercial success.

Describing how he established negotiations between Sony and Microsoft for enabling cross-play on Fortnite between their respective PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles, Sweeny stated: “It was one of the greatest moments in Epic's history, I was pleased and tired." Cross-play had already been enabled between Microsoft and Nintendo, however the cooperation between Sony and Microsoft helped Epic Games garner much of their success. The popularity of the Fortnite title has declined somewhat recently, with revenue from microtransactions reportedly falling by 56%.

Amazon lays off dozens of game development staff

In the latest stumbling block for its fledgling gaming division, Amazon Game Studios has reportedly laid off dozens of its employees, with affected staff told to apply for alternative positions within Amazon initially, with severance packages being given on 12th August for those unable to find suitable roles. An unconfirmed number of unannounced games were also cancelled according to affected staff.

In a statement, an Amazon spokesperson said: “Amazon Game Studios is reorganising some of our teams to allow us to prioritise development of New World, Crucible, and new unannounced projects we’re excited to reveal in the future”.

83% of gamers interested in new cloud gaming services

As the rush to establish cloud streaming gaming platforms continues, a survey has found that 83% of gamers are open to try such platforms in someway. However, up to 19% of respondents do not have the minimum required 30Mbps internet connection for Google Stadia. Consumer internet speeds were a major limitation in the adoption of previous generation of cloud services.

Performance and visual quality concerns were also cited as potential drawbacks to streaming platforms, indicating that the initial uptake on these services may be low initially while consumers decide whether performance meets the consumer’s expectations.