Amazon has decided to jump in to the world of esports — beyond the distribution of digital downloads. Amazon announced a new division of its massive online empire called Amazon GameOn.

The new branch of Amazon will act as a game hosting site for developers. Gaming developers will be able to “create competitions using the admin console, enable end-users to create competitions in-game and award in-game prizes and real-world prizes.” The awarding of prizes and awards will be restricted to the states. The addition will allow the developers to restrict what plays can join a tournament using an entry requirement service.

The software integrates a Game API that allows developers to merge the GameOn platform into their games while managing the tournaments using GameOn’s Admin Console. GameOn will play host to four tournament types for games including Leaderboards, Multi-Round Tournaments and Leagues.

The Leaderboard style runs on the standard format and reflects the arcade style of play. Players will receive so many lives or tries to allow them to play through the game and achieve their best high score they can reach. The player with the best score will be named the winner. The Multi-Round Tournaments will run longer with multiple competitions in an elimination format. The best winners of every round will move onto the next until only one player remains and is named the reigning champion. For League style, players will be ranked based on an in-game scoring or the number of wins, awarding the players with the highest rank at the end of the league.

GameOn plans to offer fun and fair competitions that allow developers to work with flexible entry requirements. Requirements can be restrictions including but not limited to geographic location, device type and player levels. Amazon will work on reducing fraud abuse within the game to provide a more enjoyable experience. 

Players will be able to play for both physical and digital prizes that are managed by Amazon. The platform appears open to developers now.