Amazon Luna is a cloud gaming platform developed and operated by

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

. Luna was announced on September 24, 2020, with

early access Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release development cycles, such as pre-alph ...

available to subscribers by invitation beginning on October 20, 2020. In its early access state, Amazon Luna will feature about 100 different games combined, with an introductory price of $5.99 a month, and will be powered by AWS. Luna will have integration with

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...

and will be available on

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

, Mac,

Amazon Fire TV Amazon Fire TV (stylized as amazon fireTV) is a line of digital media players and microconsoles developed by Amazon. The devices are small network appliances that deliver digital audio and video content streamed via the Internet to a connecte ...

, and

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

(as a

progressive web app A progressive web application (PWA), commonly known as a progressive web app, is a type of application software delivered through the web, built using common web technologies including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WebAssembly. It is intended to w ...

) on launch, as well as Android shortly after. Amazon has partnered with

Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...

to create a gaming channel exclusive to Luna, giving Luna subscribers access to Ubisoft's titles the same day they release. The Ubisoft+ (Beta) channel costs an additional $14.99 per month. Luna early access is currently only available to subscribers within the United States, with international release yet to be confirmed. It is set to launch as Amazon's competitor to other cloud gaming platforms like

Google Stadia Stadia is a cloud gaming service developed and operated by Google. Known in development as Project Stream, the service debuted through a closed beta in October 2018, and publicly launched in November 2019. The service was to compete with Sony' ...

Xbox Cloud Gaming Xbox Cloud Gaming (formerly known as Project xCloud and colloquially known as xCloud) is Microsoft's Xbox cloud gaming service. Initially released in beta testing in November 2019, the service later launched for subscribers of Xbox Game Pass U ...

PlayStation Plus PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...

cloud streaming, and

GeForce Now GeForce Now (stylized as GeForce NOW) is the brand used by Nvidia for its cloud gaming service. The Nvidia Shield version of GeForce Now, formerly known as Nvidia Grid, launched in Software release life cycle, beta in 2013, with Nvidia official ...

Games

Controllers

Luna supports control through keyboard and mouse, the

Xbox Wireless Controller The Xbox Wireless Controller is the primary game controller for the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S home video game consoles, also commercialized for its use in Windows-based PCs, and compatible with other operating systems such as macOS, Linux, i ...

, and the

DualShock 4 The DualShock (originally Dual Shock; trademarked as DUALSHOCK or DUAL SHOCK; with the PlayStation 5 version named DualSense) is a line of gamepads with vibration-feedback and analog controls developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the P ...

and

DualSense The DualShock (originally Dual Shock; trademarked as DUALSHOCK or DUAL SHOCK; with the PlayStation 5 version named DualSense) is a line of gamepads with Haptic technology, vibration-feedback and analog controls developed by Sony Interactive Enterta ...

controllers. The Luna Controller is an optional accessory selling for $59.99. It comes in a single color (black) and features dual

analog sticks An analog stick (or analogue stick in British English), sometimes called a control stick or thumbstick, is an input device for a controller (often a game controller) that is used for two-dimensional input. An analog stick is a variation of a joys ...

, a

D-pad A D-pad (short for directional pad or digital pad; officially referred to by Nintendo as a +Control Pad) is a flat, usually thumb-operated, often digital, four-way directional control with one button on each point, found on nearly all modern vid ...

, two sets of shoulder buttons, four main A/B/X/Y face buttons, and four other face buttons. A microphone is built in, allowing support for

Amazon Alexa Amazon Alexa, also known simply as Alexa, is a virtual assistant technology largely based on a Polish speech synthesiser named Ivona, bought by Amazon in 2013. It was first used in the Amazon Echo smart speaker and the Echo Dot, Echo Studio and ...

. The controller can connect through

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

, or a

USB-C USB-C (properly known as USB Type-C) is a 24-pin USB connector system with a rotationally symmetrical connector. The designation C refers only to the connector's physical configuration or form factor and should not be confused with the conne ...

cable.

Reception

In a review of Amazon Luna in March 2021, a CNN article praised the service for its lower price point compared to Stadia and

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass are video game subscription services from Microsoft. Both services grant users access to a rotating catalog of games from a range of publishers and other premium services, including Xbox Live Gold and EA Play, fo ...

and praised its user interface whilst criticising occasional lag issues and its initial game lineup. A review from

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...

criticized the channel setup, arguing that those who want the full experience will end up paying more than similar services. The review remarked that the service feels misguided, with an unclear target audience, and considered it too impractical to recommend to consumers. However, it also stated that it may be a good replacement to a console for people who prefer using subscription services.

References

External links

* {{Video game streaming services Cloud gaming services Cross-platform software Amazon (company) 2020 in video gaming Subscription video game services