Amazon is the latest company to throw its hat into the cloud gaming market as it announced a new service, Luna, which allows users to stream and play games on compatible devices.
Competing with the likes of Google Stadia, Xbox’s xCloud, and Nvidia’s GeForce Now, Luna is designed for instant gameplay with “high-quality, immersive games” available on a variety of devices including FireTV, PC, and Mac.
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In addition to this, the company says that support for iOS and Android devices will arrive soon.
According to Amazon’s VP of Entertainment Devices and Services, Marc Whitten, “We created Luna to make it easy to play great games on the devices customers already own and love.”
What does Amazon Luna include?
Currently, Amazon is offering subscribers access to Luna+, a channel available in early access. Users can play existing titles on the service for an introductory early access price of $5.99 per month.
However, Amazon will roll out more channels in future. It has already teamed up with Ubisoft and Remedy Entertainment to bring their top gaming titles and franchises to the service.
This includes titles such as Assassin’s Creed, Watch Dogs, Control, A Plague Tale: Innocence, and more through a dedicated channel on the service. At the time of writing, Amazon had not announced pricing for these channels.
Subscribers will also get access to Amazon’s live streaming platform Twitch. Users will not only watch their favourite streamers live in the service, but also livestream their Luna games via Twitch.
The cloud service will also support up to 1080p/60fps at launch, with additional support for 4K coming soon.
To use Luna, subscribers will need a fast internet connection, as well as a compatible game controller or peripherals like Amazon’s Luna Controller.
All games are streamed via Amazon Web Services and Amazon has promised fast loading times and no drawn-out or large downloads or updates.
The gaming cloud service is currently in early access in the United States.
Users can access it on Amazon’s website and select the “Request early access” button to request an invitation.
It’s unclear whether a global rollout or rollout to regions such as South Africa is on the cards. If non-US users try to sign up for early access, you will receive a message saying that it is “Only available in the US at this time”.
You can find out more about the service on the Amazon Luna website.
Feature image: Amazon
