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Amazon’s video unit appears to be moving into virtual reality, following some of the company’s rivals into the field.
Amazon said in a post on Glassdoor.com it is looking for a software developer to manage the building of “the Virtual Reality experience within Amazon Video.” Glassdoor is a site that enables people to review their current and past employers. The job is posted for Santa Monica, Calif., the city where Amazon Studios is based.
Netflix and Hulu, Amazon’s top competitors in web video, have already moved into VR. So far, those companies have focused on enabling customers to watch content on flat screens in a virtual environment, but Amazon’s post suggests the retailer might try to offer its customers a 360-degree virtual experience. This would be more akin to YouTube 360°.
“The future will not be limited to passive 2D experiences,” Amazon wrote in the job post, first spotted by Uploadvr. “The Virtual Reality team will explore and create the platform and interface for immersive storytelling.”
Amazon’s interest in Virtual Reality has appears to be growing. In February, Amazon Web Services launched Lumberyard, a free-of-charge 3D game engine with upcoming VR support. According to Uploadvr’s story, Amazon has also recently filed a number of patent applications for Augmented Reality designs.
Greg Sandoval is a long-time tech reporter as well as a former staff writer at The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and The Verge. He’s just completed a two-year, around-the-world tour and now freelances for GeekWire.
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