Amazon may be looking to jump into the increasingly competitive Android console market, joining Ouya, Shield, and Mojo. Such a decision wouldn't be particularly surprising, given Amazon makes games, has an Android storefront, and even has their own virtual currency. Their success with Kindle Fire shows Amazon isn't afraid to market hardware in competitive markets, either.

Citing "sources," Game Informer says that Amazon plans on releasing an Android-based console for release by the end of the year, "most likely by Black Friday." The console will leverage the existing catalog of games on its Android-based store.

Sources have approached Game Informer with an interesting bit of news from one of the world's largest retailers. Amazon is developing an Android based console for release by the end of this year, most likely by Black Friday.

VentureBeat also has "sources" of their own, with some claiming they "weren't sure if Amazon was serious about creating this machine," and that the company regularly experiments with tech behind-the-scenes. Another popular Amazon rumor--the ever-elusive Amazon phone--has yet to materialize, for example.

Still, it appears Amazon is serious about gaming. Internet sleuth Superannuation chimed in, saying "Amazon has been poaching MS talent to help build their platform's games library." Both companies are located in the Seattle area. Uber Entertainment's Chandana Ekanayake, also based in Seattle, responded: "Amazon has been hiring up like crazy here in Seattle. It's no secret. Lots of game devs going over there."