Amazon has incorporated its Luna cloud streaming service into Prime Video, making it and its games a free extra for Prime members. Previously, a separate monthly subscription was required to access Luna.
How it works
Luna is now available as part of Prime Video in the UK and US, but only through Fire TVs, as Amazon prioritises more casual audiences. Games are played via streaming, not downloaded, so a fast and reliable internet connection is needed.
The entire Luna library is included, consisting of well over 100 games from Amazon and other publishers, with regular monthly updates. The blog post highlights Indiana Jones And The Great Circle and EA Sports FC 26.
Amazon's strategy
Jeff Gattis, Amazon’s general manager of gaming, said in a blog post: 'For a lot of people, games have been harder to find than they should be. Bringing Luna inside Prime Video allows Prime members to discover games more naturally, and if they see one they like, they click it and they’re in.'
In an interview with IGN, Gattis admitted that cloud gaming has struggled to be a breakout success, blaming marketing towards the wrong people. He said: 'I think that the core gamer who’s invested in a console, who’s invested in a $3,000 graphics card, not only is committed to that hardware, they love that hardware. We were marketing clouds, and I mean collectively as an industry, at the wrong people.'
He added: 'Three billion people in the world play games; only about 500 million own consoles and PCs. So we have a lot of people out there that actually like to play video games, but aren’t playing in the highest fidelity setting.'
Cross-promotion opportunity
Gattis sees the integration as a cross-promotion opportunity, noting that 'every TV or movie is going to have a video game story attached to it.' For example, viewers of the new Tomb Raider TV show could be informed about associated games and access them through Prime Video.
The service faces questions about profitability, as there is no additional charge and licensing third-party games is expensive. It may also encounter similar issues to Game Pass, where choice can overwhelm casual players.
