Amazon is the latest one to join the cloud gaming provider club. Amazon has launched Luna, its own cloud gaming service. In terms of features and offering Amazon ‘Luna’ is similar to Google Stadia. It will allow users to play games that are streamed over the internet without having to download and install them first.
Luna will work on Fire TV Stick natively and on the PC and Mac using desktop apps. It will work on iPhone and iPad using web apps. Android support is currently not available but it is said to be coming soon.
Luna will offer different “channels” in which customers can subscribe and access different content. The main channel is Luna+ which is currently available as an early access channel. Also, early access is currently limited to the US. Currently, the Luna+ channel includes titles like Resident Evil 7, Control, Panzer Dragoon, A Plague Tale: Innocence, The Surge 2, Yooka-Laylee and The Impossible Lair, Iconoclasts, GRID, ABZU and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. The “introductory” price for Luna+ will be $5.99/month.
Amazon is also partnering with Ubisoft to launch a dedicated Ubisoft channel. Through this channel, subscribers will get access to existing and upcoming Ubisoft titles, such as Assassins Creed Valhalla, Far Cry 6, and Immortals Fenyx Rising the same day they release. No pricing was announced for this channel but Amazon has plans for having more such channels for other publishers and genres.
Players will be able to play at 1080p 60fps right now with 4K support coming in later. For Luna+ channel two simultaneous streaming is possible while the Ubisoft channel will offer only one streaming at a time.
As Amazon own Twitch, the biggest game streaming platform, it is a no brainer that Luna will be integrated into Twitch. Luna users would be able to access Twitch streams for available games through the service and can start playing the game they are watching instantly at any time.
Just like Google Stadia, Amazon will also release a controller for Luna. According to Amazon, “Luna Controller is Alexa-enabled and connects directly to the cloud to effortlessly control your game, featuring a multiple-antenna design that prioritizes un-interrupted Wi-Fi for lower latency gaming. In fact, our testing showed a reduction in roundtrip latency when playing Luna Controller with Cloud Direct vs. Luna Controller via Bluetooth, with reductions of between 17 to 30 milliseconds among PC, Fire TV, and Mac. Because the Luna Controller connects directly to cloud servers, players can easily switch between screens — such as Fire TV to the mobile phone — without additional pairing or configuration changes.”
It is unclear when Amazon Luna will be available. If you are from the US then you can sign up for early access here.