Amazon’s cloud gaming service, Luna, officially launched in the US on 1 March 2022. Though previously open to Fire TV users only, anyone in the US can now gain access to the service, which is available on Windows PC, Mac, Fire TV, Fire tablets, iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.

Amazon has also added a new first-party paid subscription ‘channel’, the Retro Channel, with its own selection of games, as well as a free channel for Amazon Prime subscribers as part of its Prime Gaming collection of offers. Luna’s Retro Channel consists of a decent selection of classics from the 80s and 90s such as Contra and Castlevania for $4.99, surpassing Google Stadia’s highly limited list of retro games.

The Prime Gaming channel provides access to a rolling roster of around four games, available to anyone with a Prime subscription. We expect this channel to be the most popular, based on the tens of millions of Prime subscribers in the US currently paying for the service. Devil May Cry 5 is one of the titles available immediately, and for one week from 8 March Immortals Fenyx Rising will be included. From the beginning of April, a fresh set of four games will be on offer, including Amnesia: Rebirth and Mortal Shell. The Prime Gaming channel acts as a user acquisition funnel, providing potential exposure to millions of US Prime subscribers for no additional fees.

The newly added Jackbox Games channel marks an additional third-party collection, consisting of all 8 Jackbox Party Packs, along with Drawful 2. Also, we can expect to see Jackbox Party Pack 9 added to this collection in Autumn 2022, as stated by the developer. This channel is competitively priced at $4.99 monthly, considering each game is currently listed on Steam for, on average, over $15.

New channels help to broaden Luna’s appeal

These additions join other first-party channels, Luna+ and Family Channel, alongside the third-party Ubisoft+ channel. Amazon’s first-party channels boast an overall catalogue size of over 200 titles, costing around $14 a month to play the entire roster.

The Luna+ stream offers a variety of genres with a good helping of AAA titles to generate mass appeal. Titles include blockbusters such as Control, Resident Evil: Biohazard, and Yakuza 0, as well as indie titles like Enter the Gungeon and Carrion, with an emphasis on action games released in the last five years. There are over 100 games for $5.99 per month which is comparable in value to the Google Stadia Pro subscription, which offers over 240 games for $9.99.

Amazon’s Family channel currently offers around 45 games, including SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated among others for $2.99 monthly. Ampere Consumer data shows that a greater proportion of gamers live with young children, justifying Amazon’s targeting of the family demographic. The lack of AAA titles in Luna’s Family channel, however, suggests  it will not be a strong driver for subscriptions, and could be improved with a wider selection.

The use of channels at different price points allows Amazon to focus on particular demographics of gamers, without requiring them to subscribe to the full catalogue. For example, veteran gamers may initially only be interested in the retro channel, but once in the Luna environment they are more likely to consider adding another channel.

By separating the service into diverse channels, Luna’s users also gain greater control and customisability over their choice of package. Though currently there is no discount or benefit gained by subscribing to multiple streams, multi-channel bundles may be available in the future.

‘Founder’ pricing to be locked in by April 2022

Amazon has stated, from 1 April 2022, that its initial ‘founder’ pricing will no longer be active on two of the channels. Luna+ will increase in price from $5.99 to $9.99 a month, and the Family channel from $2.99 to $5.99 a month. If a user is subscribed before April, then they will be able to keep the initial pricing locked in for as long as the subscription remains active.

Twitch integration brings together Amazon’s gaming ecosystem

Every day a substantial 30m active users log into Twitch to watch their favourite streamers and games. Thus, Amazon has a clear incentive to seamlessly integrate Luna with Twitch. Users will have the option to jump from viewing a particular game’s page on Luna, to watching a stream, to playing the game. Additionally, Luna will provide native support for broadcasting to Twitch, including a webcam overlay. By significantly reducing the barrier to entry of streaming, many more gamers will be able to participate, further increasing their engagement with the service.