The first big, in-person games event in some time is underway in Germany and one of the early, interesting announcements comes from Amazon. Revealed as part of Opening Night Live at Gamescom, Amazon is launching Alexa Game Control.

This is precisely as it sounds, using Alexa to control games and the first title to use it will be the long-awaited Dead Island 2.

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Alexa Game Control provides the tools for game developers to integrate voice control into their titles. Besides the obvious accessibility implications, it opens up a whole new avenue of possibilities within games. Better still, this isn't going to be exclusive to folks who own an Alexa smart speaker. The tech is built right into the games so all you need is a microphone. It sounds very much like Alexa is going to live inside the games.

With Alexa Game control, players can perform in-game actions such as interacting with non-player characters (NPCs), swapping weapons and other actions by using their voice in natural and intuitive ways. Players do not need an Echo device to play games with their voice; they can use any microphone or headset connected to their PC or console. What’s more, with Alexa Game Control, players can use in-game voice commands such as "swap to my best weapon" without saying the wake word "Alexa". Players also have access to Alexa features such as controlling their smart home devices, setting timers, and accessing the weather by calling with utterances like "Alexa, turn on the living room light."

The focus will be on all the hot new game reveals, but this is a pretty huge announcement. In Dead Island 2, set to finally launch in February 2023, players will be able to use voice to access in-game navigation and control zombie hordes, among other features. Alexa Game Control is currently in private beta but interested developers can sign up for a chance to get in on the action.