Amazon has integrated its Luna cloud gaming service into Prime Video, making it available to Prime members at no additional charge in the UK and US. The move aims to boost engagement with Luna by offering it as a free bonus alongside the video streaming subscription.
Luna now accessible through Prime Video
Previously, Luna required a separate monthly subscription, but now users can access over 100 games directly from the Prime Video app on Fire TV devices. Amazon is prioritizing casual audiences who may not own consoles or gaming PCs. Jeff Gattis, Amazon’s general manager of gaming, stated 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.”
Targeting non-traditional gamers
In an interview with IGN, Gattis acknowledged that cloud gaming has struggled to reach mainstream success, blaming industry-wide marketing toward core gamers. “We were marketing clouds at the wrong people,” he said. “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.” Luna is now available on Fire TVs only, as Amazon focuses on users who do not want to invest in expensive hardware.
Library includes major titles
The Luna library includes games like Indiana Jones And The Great Circle and EA Sports FC 26, with regular monthly updates. Games are streamed, not downloaded, requiring a stable internet connection. Unlike Amazon Prime Gaming’s monthly free PC games, which can be kept permanently, Luna games are only accessible while subscribed to Prime.
Cross-promotion with TV and film
Gattis sees integration as a cross-promotion tool, noting that “every TV or movie is going to have a video game story attached to it.” For example, fans of Amazon’s upcoming Tomb Raider TV show can easily access related games through Prime Video. He also emphasized the need to “rebuild trust in people who had a bad cloud experience five years ago.”
Monetization questions remain
It is unclear how Amazon will profit from the free offering, given the costs of licensing third-party games. Analysts suggest it may face similar challenges to Xbox Game Pass, where casual players can become overwhelmed by choice and devalue game worth. Despite this, Amazon is betting that broader access will drive usage and eventually lead to paid conversions or increased Prime subscriptions.
