What Is Amazon Luna? Meet The Game Streamer That Could Destroy Google Stadia

Amazon took its biggest step yet into the video game market on Thursday with the surprise announcement of Amazon Luna at its device event. Luna will be a video game streaming service, similar to Google Stadia, save for key points that could lead the platform to success over its competitor.

Powered by Amazon Web Services, Luna will be capable of playing games up to 4K and 60 frames-per-second over a high-speed internet connection and on certain titles. It will be usable through Fire TV, PC, Mac, Android, and iOS, with support for Bluetooth controllers, PS4 controllers, Xbox controllers, keyboard and mouse, and the specialized Luna controller launching with the service for the price of $49.99.

What is sure to separate Luna from Stadia and potentially give it the edge is pricing. While Stadia offers a selection of titles through a subscription, all other games are sold individually, often for full price. On Luna, all titles will be available through its monthly subscription fee, known as Luna +, which is set at $5.99 a month during its early access period, making it more streamlined and attractively priced than the competition.

Luna+ will feature games like “Resident Evil 7,” “Control,” “Panzer Dragoon,” “A Plague Tale: Innocence,” “The Surge 2,” “Yooka-Laylee and The Impossible Lair,” “Iconoclasts,” “Grid,” “Abzu,” and “Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.” Furthermore, Amazon is partnering with Ubisoft on a Luna channel dedicated to the publisher's games, set to launch at a later date. This channel will include such games as “Far Cry 6” and “Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla” as soon as they launch.