Amazon is finally entering the cloud gaming arena with its newly announced Luna service, which will soon be nipping at the heels of rivals such as Google Stadia and Xbox Game Pass.
Alongside the service itself, the company will also be releasing a dedicated Amazon Luna controller. This will sync up with the cloud and enable you to play games on several different platforms, including PC, Mac and Fire TV devices – with games streamed directly from a remote server (no console or lengthy downloads/installations required).
Luna boasts integration with the popular Alexa virtual assistant and the Amazon-owned live-streaming platform Twitch. Amazon also has agreements in place to bring some big new Triple-A games to the service, such as Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Watch Dogs: Legion. This all makes it an attractive proposition for gamers who don't want the commitment of buying a console.
The service will also be operating on a pick 'n' mix subscription model, with various 'channels' giving access to different games libraries. The basic 'Luna+' channel is currently priced at $5.99 in the US, so, as with most of Amazon's digital services and products, it seems to be very competitively priced. But the real question is: where will you be able to use it?
READ MORE: Amazon Luna vs Google Stadia – what are the differences?
Which countries can access Amazon Luna?
The Amazon Luna service is currently only available in the mainland United States to select customers who've signed up for early access. There's no word yet on when it will roll out internationally, or which countries it will eventually be available in.
However, we can hazard a guess as to which countries will get Amazon Luna first.
If you want to play games through the Luna service on your TV, you'll need a compatible Amazon Fire TV device. Currently, according to Amazon's website, Fire TV, Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick 4K work in the following supported countries:
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Canada
- Germany
- Austria (excluding Fire TV Cube)
- Japan
- India (excluding Fire TV Cube)
- France (excluding Fire TV Cube)
- Italy (excluding Fire TV Cube)
- Spain (excluding Fire TV Cube)
Therefore, we'd expect that the Luna service will crop up in all of these territories at some point. We'll have more news on which countries Luna will be available in as soon as the full rollout is confirmed.
READ MORE: Amazon Luna controller explained