Industry vets Hocking, Swift join Amazon

Amazon has hired on Portal lead Kim Swift and Far Cry 2 designer Clint Hocking to join its internal game studio.

Kotaku reports the two will join Amazon Game Studios’ growing talent pool. While Amazon has yet to confirm the hires, Hocking’s personal blog and Swift’s twitter account both allude to the moves.

Along with Far Cry 2, Hocking’s Ubisoft tenure also included work on multiple Splinter Cell titles. The veteran had since worked on projects that never ended up coming to fruition – both at Lucas Arts and Valve, where he was employed until January of this year.

Swift worked on both Valve’s Portal and Left 4 Dead franchises, before leaving to create Airtight Games. The indie studio released Quantum Conundrum on multiple platforms in 2012, and the Ouya-exclusive Soul Fjord earlier this year.

The news follows the unveiling of Amazon’s Fire TV, a new streaming media and game device priced at $99.