Amazon announces its own game streaming service: Luna

Amazon has just announced Luna, its own game streaming service and its latest foray into dedicated entertainment platforms.

Luna functions similarly to Google Stadia in that it lets you play games on streaming devices without downloading or installing them. As you'd expect, it's powered by Amazon Web Services servers, which many multiplayer games use for hosting. Amazon is promising the ability to seamlessly change screens without losing progress or interrupting your gameplay session, and while Luna works with 2.4GHz and 5GHz connections, the company recommends a 10mbps internet connection at a minimum, and 35mbps for 4K streaming. You'll also want a data plan that can accommodate up to 10GB/hr (at 1080p). Note that 4K streaming will not be available universally, but is "coming soon for select titles."

Amazon Luna will enter early access soon, and it will be available on Windows 10 PCs, Mac, iPhone and iPad (via web app), and Fire TV devices when it launches, with Android support to follow. During early access, it will sport an "introductory price" of $5.99 month, but it seems this price may increase at some point in the future. Luna will initially only be available in the mainland United States, and US Amazon customers can now request an early access spot here.

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"Players who subscribe to this channel will have access to their favorite Ubisoft titles in up to 4K resolution, mobile gameplay, and access to new titles when the channel launches like Assassins Creed Valhalla, Far Cry 6, and Immortals Fenyx Rising the same day they release," the company explains. "This is the first of multiple Luna game channels in development, where customers can play games from their favorite publishers and genres."

Several games have already been confirmed for Amazon Luna, with support from big studios like Ubisoft, Remedy, and Capcom, as well as many indies. Here are all of the games that have been listed by name or shown in Luna marketing materials:

Abzu
Assassin's Creed Valhall (at launch)
Blasphemous
Blazing Chrome
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Control
Everspace
Far Cry 6 (at launch)
Furi
Ghost of a Tale
Grid
Iconoclasts
Immortals Fenyx Rising (at launch)
Indivisible
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 3
Lumines Remastered
Metro Exodus
Obduction
Overcooked 2
Panzer Dragoon: Remake
Paper Beast
A Plague Tale: Innocence
Redout
Resident Evil 7
Rez Infinite
Rime
River City Girls
The Sexy Brutale
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
Sonic Mania
Steamworld Dig 2
Steamworld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech
The Surge 2
Tacoma
Tennis World Tour 2
Two Point Hospital
Valfaris
Watch Dogs Legion (at launch)
Yoku's Island Express
Yooka-Laylee and The Impossible Lair
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA

You can play games over Luna using a keyboard and mouse, a connected Bluetooth controller (with support for the DualShock 4 and Xbox One controller), or Amazon's new Luna controller. The Luna controller purportedly reduces input latency by "17 to 30 milliseconds among PC, Fire TV, and Mac" because it also connects directly to the cloud. The Luna controller will go for $49.99 during early access.

Between Google Stadia, Game Pass xCloud, and now Amazon Luna, cloud gaming is getting busy. With Luna coming soon, we may see it as part of the Amazon Prime Day deals.