Amazon has acquired gaming studio Double Helix.
The acquisition is "part of our ongoing commitment to build innovative games for customers," a spokeswoman told PCMag in an email.
Double Helix's 75 employees will remotely join Seattle's Amazon team, TechCrunch reported; they will continue to operate from their Orange County headquarters.
The blog also said the news emerged after invites for a Feb. 13 joint recruiting event from Amazon and Double Helix Games made the rounds, and prompted inquiries about why the two companies were teaming up.
Double Helix did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment.
Amazon's rumored gaming ambitions have been in the news of late. In August, reports tipped an Android-based machine expected in time for the 2013 holidays. That didn't happen, but last week, VG 24/7 said Amazon plans to launch a sub-$300 dedicated gaming device sometime this year, "designed as a central point in the living room to group all of those services [music, film, TV, games, Kindle] together and make use of the home TV screen."
Amazon is already experimenting with mobile gaming. In July, it launched GameCircle, a developer program that encourages game makers to create more interactive experiences for the Kindle Fire tablet. Amazon Game Studios then emerged in the fall, as well as its first title, a Facebook game called Living Classics.
Double Helix Games dates back to 2007, when Shiny Entertainment, creator of games like Earthworm Jim, Sacrifice, MDK and Enter the Matrix, merged with The Collective, Inc., makers of Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Most recently, the company launched a reboot of Killer Instinct for Xbox One . But Double Helix's acquisition won't impact the game, according to Microsoft.
A spokesman told Polygon today that Microsoft Studios will find a "new development partner," but the franchise will not leave Redmond.
"We remain dedicated to delivering a great experience and plan to announce our new development partner soon," the company said in a statement. "We're excited about the future of this popular franchise."
Editor's Note: This story was updated at 11:50 a.m. ET with confirmation from Amazon.