‘Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’ was one of the most popular games Amazon offered Prime members at no … [+]
It seems like Amazon’s Free Games with Prime is going from strength to strength. The company has revealed some details about how things went for the program in 2022, while giving me some more insight into Prime Gaming.
“The team worked really hard to increase the awareness and accessibility of Prime Gaming while also making a concerted effort to offer even more compelling content that appeals to a wider variety of gamers,” Josh Dodson, Prime Gaming’s director of business development, told me. “As a result, more Prime Gaming members engaged more regularly with the content that we offered each month.”
If you claimed every single Prime game Amazon offered last year, you snapped up more than $2,300 worth of titles, based on each game’s retail value at the time it was made available. The company says that’s 34% more value than the games it offered Prime members at no extra cost in 2021 — at least in terms of the dollar amount.
Along with many compelling indies, Amazon gave Prime members a bunch of high-profile games throughout the year, including Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, Madden NFL 22, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Far Cry 4, Dead Space 2, several Monkey Island titles, Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Grid Legends, Assassin’s Creed Origins, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and Dishonored 2. That’s not a bad haul at all, and unlike on PlayStation Plus and Game Pass, once you claim a game through Prime, it’s yours to keep.
Meanwhile, Amazon revealed the top 10 most-claimed games for 2022. In alphabetical order, they are:
It’s not super surprising to see any of those in the top 10. Still, I figured Mass Effect: Legendary Edition would have been on there.
You might be wondering what goes into selecting the games that Prime members can snap up each month. Dodson offered some details on that front: “The Prime Gaming team really aims to hit that sweet spot of quality and variety. Prime Gaming’s members are varied and global, so we know we need to offer a breadth of content to cater to a range of gamer preferences. In addition to Free Games With Prime, we also aim to help our members get more out of the other games that they’re currently playing, with free in-game content for popular titles from Riot, EA, Rockstar, Ubisoft and others. Our selections are also informed by the kinds of content resonating with members.”
Prime Gaming 2022 in Review Infographic
When you add in access to the Prime Gaming Channel on Amazon Luna and the in-game bonuses you can claim for a bunch of titles (including League of Legends, Grand Theft Auto Online, Pokémon Go, Roblox, Valorant and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla), Prime Gaming seems like a pretty good deal. Amazon says that between the free games and in-game content, there was a more than 25% increase in claimed games and items compared with 2021.
Going forward, Amazon aims to deliver members more value through Free Games with Prime. “We’re a customer and data-driven company, and partners are motivated to work with us based on the rate of our growth, so we’re excited to see that manifest in new, unique and differentiated opportunities,” Dodson said. “In the future, you can expect to see us expand on the breadth of the offering even further so there truly is something for nearly everyone. I can’t say more right now but we’re excited to share more in the future.”
Here’s hoping that results in more games that console players can claim in the future. There are some downsides to the program, including the fact the freebies are primarily for PC. There haven’t been too many console games on offer. However, Amazon made a Switch title called Mom Hid My Game! available to claim through Prime recently.
“We understand that many of our members play on other platforms and we’re always exploring ways to deliver even more value via Prime Gaming,” Dodson said. “While I have nothing to share today when it comes to Free Games With Prime, it’s worth noting that much of the in-game content that we offer each month is cross-platform and can often be redeemed and enjoyed by PC, mobile and console players as well.”
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