Amazon's hoping to see cloud gaming make a comeback after Google fumbled it with Stadia. It launched its Luna platform four years ago, but the world didn't really notice, even many Prime subscribers remain unaware of its existence. That could change now that Luna is being integrated directly into Prime Video.
The decision seems like a no brainer. Luna in Prime provides more visibility for Amazon's game offering, and it's a great deal for Prime Video subscribers. Users can access titles from Luna through a new Games tab and play instantly either with a controller or their smartphone, with no need to download and install anything.
There are a couple of catches. The Luna Prime Video integration is only available in the US and UK, and only for Prime Video subscribers who have a Fire TV. Not all games are included either, at least not initially.
Amazon has said it's considering a strategy for its big game IPs like Tomb Raider and James Bond that could allow premium Luna subscribers (currently $9.99 a month) get immediate access to Amazon-published titles, but they're not part of a subscription for now.
Nevertheless, Luna’s catalog does include some big releases like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Fallout, Hogwarts Legacy and EA Sports FC 26. There are also Amazon’s GameNight party series. Amazon Games has also developed original offerings like co-op battler Masters of the Universe: Legends Unite and the AI horror show Courtroom Chaos - Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Putting this inside Prime Video itself should help solve Luna's discoverability problem while echoing Netflix’s efforts to promote in-app gaming.
But what about gamers who aren't Prime Video subscribers. Is Luna attractive enough to attract new customers? Amazon thinks so, and it could benefit from the current RAM crisis and the sky-high prices of gaming consoles.
Jeff Gattis, Amazon Games general manager, told our sister site Techradar that the rising hardware costs could lead more hardcore gamers to consider cloud gaming.
"I wouldn't have said that 18 months ago, and I will say our business model is not really predicated on this this massive shift where everybody turns in their consoles and PCs and comes over to cloud" he said.
"But gosh, when you start to see the prices of the Steam Machine and the rumours of PlayStation and Xbox. As you get to $1,000, $1,500 hardware [...] you're going to see more people that are priced out of the market. They're going to consider other technologies".
"It's not our strategy to accelerate that, but it's a nice tailwind if it does happen, and it's realistic to think that it might," he added.
