Amazon has announced its own streaming service Luna. It is similar to offerings like Google Stadia and Xbox Cloud Gaming and is expected to provide a large selection of games. How good is the service and what makes it different?
What is Luna? With Luna, you should be able to stream games on various devices. The entire library is cloud-based. You do not have to download and install the games, but can play them directly online, as with Google Stadia. A connection of 10 Mb/s is required, and 35 Mb/s for 4K.
Luna is currently in the early access phase in the USA. However, it is not yet known when exactly this will start. The service is expected to cost $5.99 per month, at least as an introductory price. How expensive Luna will be in the end is not yet definitively known.
In return, you will be offered over 100 games that you can use through Fire TV, PC, Mac, and via a web service for iPhone and iPad. At launch, the service is expected to provide a display of 1080p and 60 FPS; however, 4K is expected to follow. Additionally, Amazon offers its own controller, which works via WiFi, similar to Stadia.
But what makes Luna different and why could Amazon’s service be more successful than Google Stadia?
Stadia has problems that Amazon wants to circumvent directly
What went wrong with Stadia? Basically, Stadia and Luna are similar, as both offer game streaming in a monthly subscription.
However, Stadia encountered several problems:
- At the launch of the service, all users had to buy a starter package and subscribe. The free offer came later. This was a significant entry barrier that was later eased by abolishing the starter package and introducing free trial months.
- Those who subscribe to Stadia pay primarily for the streaming service. Destiny 2 was available for free at launch, but other major titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 or Assassin’s Creed Odyssey had to be purchased separately.
- There were technical problems, especially with input lag.
- Google appeared very confident and aimed for 1 billion users as a goal. However, the platform could not provide that at launch.
Publishers like Take Two were rather dissatisfied.
What does Amazon do differently? Amazon does not offer a starter package with Luna and allows you to access all games in its offering with the subscription. So you do not have to buy any of them separately.
Luna is more reminiscent of Microsoft xCloud, where you need the Game Pass Ultimate, but also have simultaneous access to the entire game library.
The basic subscription is $4 cheaper than Stadia, and Luna can be played on two devices in a household simultaneously. If you do not just want to play, you can also watch Twitch streams with Luna and, if desired, start the game directly if it is in the offering.
What games does Luna offer? Luna is expected to offer over 100 games at launch, including:
- Resident Evil 7
- Control
- GRID
- Metro Exodus
- A Plague Tale: Innocence
- The Surge 2
- Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
However, with this lineup, it can hardly compete against Microsoft’s Game Pass. That is why Amazon is collaborating with major publishers and offering their games in an additional subscription. In the future, a Ubisoft package is expected to be available for the basic subscription, which should include games like
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
- Far Cry 6
- Immortals Fenyx Rising
It is not yet known when the package will be available and how much it will cost. The system is fundamentally interesting because it allows you to target specific developers or publishers that interest you.
When will Luna start in our region? There is currently no information on this. The early access is currently only related to “Mainland US”; even Hawaii and Alaska do not have access to the service at the moment.
We at MeinMMO have previously tested several streaming services, including GeForce Now in combination with Guild Wars 2. There we played the MMORPG on PC.
MeinMMO editor Jürgen Horn has intensely dealt with Microsoft’s recently launched xCloud service. He tried The Elder Scrolls Online on a tablet. His experiences have been summarized in a test for you.
