Amazon Luna cloud gaming service to give Google Stadia a run for its money

Cloud gaming, while still generally accepted as still being in its early stages, has seen a rather steady rise in popularity in recent years. Following the releases of Google Stadia, NVIDIA GeForce Now, and Microsoft’s xCloud, a new contender has entered the fray in Amazon Luna.

The new cloud gaming service was announced by the e-commerce and tech giant at the latest Amazon Event earlier this week. Amazon Luna is currently in early access by email invite (you can register on Amazon US), and operates on a Luna+ monthly subscription at US$5.99 (S$8.26) a month.

However, is only available in the US at present, with no plans to bring it to international shores yet (though that’s something a VPN can’t fix).

The service will be available on Fire TV devices, Chrome web browser Windows PC, Apple’s Mac, as well as Safari web browser for iPhone and iPad devices on iOS 14 and later. In terms of specs, Amazon claims that Luna will run games for up to 1080p at 60fps, with 4K resolution coming at a later date. On the Luna+ subscription, gamers can stream up to two devices simultaneously.

A minimum connection speed on 10Mbps is required to stream games on Luna, with 35Mbps as the minimum for 4K streaming when that option becomes available.

Much like Google Stadia, Amazon Luna also offers its very own Bluetooth Luna Controller, which will retail for US$49 at early access. However, the service works just fine with a PlayStation DualShock 4 or Xbox One controller, or even with a standard mouse-and-keyboard setup.

As far as games go, approximately 50 games are playable on Amazon Luna. The roster includes a healthy mix of AAA, AA and indie games; from Control, Resident Evil 7, , to the likes of A Plague Tale: Innocence, Overcooked! 2, Two Point Hospital, and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. The roster is expected to expand to about double the size by the end of the early access period.

Aside from the Luna+ subscription, Ubisoft will be adding its own exclusive channel sometime during early access and will feature the likes Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Watch Dogs Legion, and Immortals Fenyx Rising.

This article was first published in Geek Culture.