Amazon has recently launched a new gaming streaming service called Luna at their annual Alexa Hardware event. Luna will compete with Google’s Stadia, Sony’s PlayStation Now and Microsoft’s xCloud. Amazon stated that Luna would work in a similar way to the other existing game streaming services which allows users to directly stream and play games on their TV, computers and smartphones.
Early access to the service will be launched for a few people in the upcoming weeks. Normally there is a monthly subscription system but every service follows different models.
Amazon Luna will not provide individual titles in a subscription package. They will have to subscribe to various channels set up by game publishers. So, Amazon would book different game producers and open a dedicated channel at a particular price and users would choose the channel they would like to subscribe.
At first, there are two channels at the platform. The first is Luna+ channel that would give subscribers access to several games at $5.99 per month. The whole list of the available titles are not revealed yet but it might include Resident Evil 7, Control and Brothers : A Tale of Two Sons.
The second channel belongs to famous game developer Ubisoft. It will provide access to titles like Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, Far Cry 6 and Immortals Fenyx Rising. The monthly rate of this subscription is not known yet. The business model is almost same to Amazon Channels service where users can choose to subscribe to a video provider from a large library.
Amazon also announced the Alexa-enabled Luna Controller priced at $49.99 during the early access period. Amazon said that the Luna Controller is Alexa-enabled and directly connects to the cloud. It has a multiple-antenna design which prioritises uninterrupted Wi-Fi for lower latency gaming.
Amazon stated that during testing, there was a decrease in the roundtrip latency while playing Luna Controller with Cloud Direct vs. Luna Controller through Bluetooth with decrease of between 17 to 30 milliseconds in PC, Fire TV and Mac.
Amazon says that players can switch between screens without additional pairing or configuration changes as Luna Controller directly connects itself to cloud servers.