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By The Washington Post 
10h ago
By Mike Hume
Amazon is entering the video game streaming market with Luna, a new service announced Thursday. The service will run on AWS game servers and will allow users to stream video games via Fire TV, smartphones and tablets, as well as PCs and Macs.
The service includes the Luna + gaming channel, where players can access a variety of subscription games. The game catalog appears to be a work in progress, but the presentation highlighted “Control,” “Resident Evil 7” and “Sonic Mania” and touted a new partnership with Ubisoft. A separate Ubisoft channel will allow Luna users to play “Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla” and “Far Cry 6” on their release days.
The service will cost $ 5.99 a month, which is cheaper than the $ 9.99 mark set by Google Stadia, which debuted in November 2019 and received criticism in its early days for latency issues affecting the game. Microsoft also has a cloud-based streaming service in the works with Project xCloud, which also launched in beta last November.
Similar to those other services, users will be able to pause the game and switch from one device (such as a PC) to another (such as a smartphone) and resume their progress.
Engadget, who had the opportunity to demo Luna, wrote that the technology worked “very well,” playing on a Fire TV, Mac and iPhone in 45 minutes. “I started with Fire TV and was able to launch the most powerful game in the store, Control, in seconds. It stuttered a bit during the opening scenes, but not enough to interrupt the cinematic flow,” wrote Engadget’s Jessica Conditt. “Most of the time, the game was smooth and none of the network outages that appeared were significant enough to break my experience.”
At the moment, Luna only allows users to stream games from the subscription service and does not allow streaming of digitally downloaded games not included on the Luna + or Ubisoft channels. Additionally, the Ubisoft channel will require a separate subscription, and prices will be announced.
A Luna + press release boasts that subscribers can play on two devices simultaneously and get 4K resolutions at 60 frames per second for select titles.
Along with the service, Amazon also introduced the Luna Controller, an Alexa-enabled device that connects directly to the cloud. During their presentation at the Amazon Devices event, the developers touted the controller’s direct cloud link to reduce latency, noting that it would save 17 to 30 milliseconds compared to using a Bluetooth controller. The Luna controller will cost $ 49.99.
Luna + also integrates the live streaming site Twitch, another Amazon property. When users scroll through the available game titles, they will be able to see a variety of Twitch creators currently streaming that game.
Early Access for Luna is available now on Fire TV, PC, Mac, and via iPhone and iPad web apps. Luna’s team emphasized to Engadget that the software is “not a native app on the App Store,” circumventing game streaming limitations and the 30 percent fee on iOS that Microsoft’s xCloud, Google’s Stadia, and Fortnite pay for. they have publicly clashed with Apple. Android availability is coming soon.
The Washington Post
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