Amazon Announced Luna, Another Game-Streaming Platform

Google Stadia, the streaming platform that was supposed to forever change the video game world, didn't. After Google released it to an incredible degree of hype and hope, it just sorta... sizzled out. Between a lack of support, a slow release of games, and some unexciting exclusives, Google's grand entrance into the world of PC gaming never quite manifested into the revolution many, myself included, had predicted and/or feared.

Well, Google Stadia is still lurching forward despite that middling success, and Amazon, never one to let an opportunity for middling success pass them by, announced the other day that they, too, plan to create their own streaming platform, called Luna.

There's nothing terribly exciting about Luna: on paper, it's functionally the same as Google Stadia. You pay a small monthly fee (in this case, $5.99) and you'll get access to a small but growing library of games that you can play on any computer you own, regardless of the specs. Android support is planned for the future, and just like Google Stadia, you can buy a controller that connects to the remote servers Amazon runs to help avoid latency issues.

In its current beta state, Luna is offering Resident Evil 7, Control, Panzer Dragoon, A Plague Tale: Innocence, The Surge 2, Yooka-Layleeand The Impossible Lair, Iconoclasts, GRID, ABZU, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, and more.

What makes Luna a bit more unique is that it's going to have "channels." Channels, a bit like the old cable packages of old, will cost an additional unknown sum to access, and will add more games to the "base" Luna experience. At launch, for example, we know there's going to be a Ubisoft channel (which will include Assassin's Creed Valhalla), but more channels might be on the way soon. This might be the game changer, since developers may be more willing to put their games on Luna if they can get their own Channel, and thus, their own specific revenue stream.

Early access sign-ups are live now, and there's no word on a final release date.