Amazon Luna Price, Release Date, Specs, Games, News, and Rumors

Amazon Luna is a cloud-based gaming service that's similar to Google Stadia, but you pay a monthly fee to access a large library of games instead of needing to purchase individual games. You can play on your Windows PC, Mac, or Fire TV, and also play on iPhones and iPads using the Safari browser.

When Was Amazon Luna Released?

Amazon Luna became available to users in the continental United States on March 1, 2022. Along with the launch, three new channels premiered.

Prime Gaming provides a selection of games that changes each month. The Retro Channel makes classic games available for a monthly fee. The Jackbox Games Channel includes all of the Party Packs from the creators of the You Don't Know Jack trivia series; additional games include Quiplash, Drawful, and Trivia Murder Party. The Jackbox Channel is also available for a monthly fee.

Amazon Luna Pricing

Amazon Prime members can play a selection of games on Luna for free, but the Luna+ service will set you back $9.99 per month as an ongoing subscription separate from your regular Amazon account subscription. Since it's a cloud gaming service rather than a console, there is no associated hardware cost. You use it through your existing computer, phone, or other compatible device.

In addition to the basic subscription price, you can expect a number of add-ons that bring in additional games for an additional monthly fee. The Family Channel costs $5.99 a month. Retro and Jackbox Games channels each cost $4.99 a month, while the Ubisoft+ option runs $17.99.

The Latest News About Amazon Luna

You can get more gaming news from Lifewire on all kinds of topics including Amazon's plans for other products. Here are some of the latest stories involving Amazon Luna.

How Does Amazon Luna Work?

Luna is a cloud-based gaming service, which means that it runs games on Amazon's cloud architecture and streams the video and audio to your local device. Your controller sends inputs to the cloud over the internet, which allows you to control the game remotely.

To use Luna, you need a compatible device, like a computer or phone, and a high-speed internet connection. There is no Luna console to speak of, but you can use the service through Fire TV if you want to stick to Amazon hardware.

Luna is a subscription service, so you have to pay a monthly fee to use it. It's a lot like Netflix for games, in that you pay a subscription fee to stream a library of games instead of purchasing individual games.

Since Luna is cloud-based, you can freely switch between playing on your phone, computer, Fire TV, and other devices without losing progress. Your game progress is saved in the cloud, and you can even switch devices in real time while playing if, for example, someone needs the TV and you have to transition to playing on your phone.

Amazon Luna Features

In addition to the basic ability to play games from the cloud in a Netflix-like environment, Amazon Luna is expected to support features like these:

• 4K UHD gaming
• HDR TV
• Stream to two devices at once
• Seamlessly transition between devices
• Online multiplayer
• Local co-op (up to four controllers)

Where You Can Play: Amazon Luna Compatible Hardware

Amazon Luna is a cloud-based gaming service, so it works with a wide variety of hardware and doesn't have the sort of strict specification requirements that you may be used to seeing from PC games.

It's designed to work on virtually any hardware that's capable of streaming video, although there will be a few basic requirements in place at launch.

Here's what you need to play through the Luna app:

• PC (requires Windows 10 with support for DirectX 11)
• Mac (OSX 10.13+)
• Fire TV devices (Fire TV Stick Lite, Fire TV Stick 2nd generation and later, Fire TV Stick 4K, Fire TV 3rd generation or newer, Fire TV Cube, Toshiba Fire TV Edition, Insignia Fire TV Edition)
• Chromebook
• Fire Tablets (2019 Fire 7, 2018/2020 Fire HD 8, 2019/2021 Fire HD 10)

Additionally, you can play Luna through these web browsers:

• Chrome web browser (version 83+) for PC, Mac, or Chromebook
• Safari web browser (iOS14) for iPhone and iPad

Android phones, tablets, and other devices aren't supported during early access and aren't expected to work at launch either. However, rumors say that you will eventually be able to use Luna with most Android phones and a variety of other devices.

Amazon Luna Games

On Luna, you'll find games from most of your favorite developers and publishers, along with games from Amazon's own game studios. Most of these games run in 1080p at 60FPS, while some run in full 4K UHD.

Some of the games you can play on Luna include:

• Control
• Ryme
• ABZU
• Bloodstained
• Lumines
• WonderBoy
• Two Point Hospital
• Sonic Mania Plus
• Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair
• Resident Evil 7
• The Surge 2
• Iconoclasts
• Grid

Get a look at some Amazon Luna games in action.

Do You Need the Ubisoft Channel?

Maybe not. Luna will function as a basic service that offers a bunch of games that you can play as long as you remain subscribed, but it will also have add-on channels that bring in new content.

This will work a lot like Amazon Prime Video, which provides a bunch of free movies and TV shows, along with the option to add premium channels like HBO and Showtime.

The Ubisoft channel is the first premium Luna channel, and it adds a bunch of old favorites along with day-and-date access to brand new Ubisoft titles. Some Ubisoft titles that are available include:

• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
• Immortals Fenyx Rising
• Far Cry 6

If you're a fan of Ubisoft games and want to play new titles the moment they become available, then the Ubisoft channel is a great way to access the games you're interested in. If you aren't, then you can safely ignore this add-on and just use the basic Luna service.

The Amazon Luna Controller

If you're a fan of the Nintendo Switch Pro controller or the Xbox One controller, you'll find a lot to like in the Luna controller. It shares the same basic form factor of those controllers and the same layout, with staggered analog sticks, a d-pad, four face buttons, two triggers, and two shoulder buttons.

The grips are slightly textured for comfort during long gaming sessions, and it actually has Alexa functionality built right in.

In addition to Alexa, this controller also has one other secret hidden under the hood. Instead of connecting to your device and routing through that to the cloud servers, it connects directly through the internet to the cloud servers. This is the same way that the Google Stadia controller works, and it helps reduce latency a bit.

The inclusion of the low-latency Cloud Direct feature is the main reason to buy a Luna controller if you already have a Bluetooth-compatible Xbox One, Switch, or PS4 controller.

While you can use any Bluetooth-enabled controller with Luna, they will all create a bit of extra lag due to the fact that they need to transmit your inputs via Bluetooth before your computer, tablet, phone, or Fire TV can transmit those inputs to the cloud.

Amazon Luna Twitch Integration

Since Amazon owns Twitch, it should come as no surprise that Luna has built-in Twitch integration. During early access, and at launch, you will be able to watch Twitch streams directly through Luna. If you see something you like and want to play instead, you can then go directly from watching the stream of a game to playing that game, as long as it's available on the service.