Amazon Integrates Luna Cloud Gaming Into Prime Video in US & UK

Amazon is leveling up its living room experience by folding its cloud gaming platform, Luna, directly into the Prime Video app. Prime subscribers in the United States and the United Kingdom using compatible Fire TV devices can now seamlessly transition from watching their favorite movies to playing high-fidelity video games at zero extra cost. By transforming Luna into an instant, clickable layer within its flagship streaming platform, Amazon has eliminated the need to buy expensive console hardware, upgrade graphics cards, or sit through lengthy storage downloads.

When subscribers open the standard Prime Video app on a Fire TV, they will now find a dedicated "Games" tab sitting right alongside familiar entertainment categories like Movies, TV Shows, and Sports. Players can jump into the action using a standard Bluetooth gaming controller or simply pair their smartphone as a touch-based gamepad through the free Luna Controller app. 

Depending on additional subscriptions such as Ubisoft+ and linked digital storefront libraries, Luna offers an expanding library of over 100 titles. Hardcore players can dive into massive hits like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Hogwarts Legacy, EA Sports FC 26, Fallout 4, and Control: Ultimate Edition. Meanwhile, social gamers can enjoy a "GameNight" local multiplayer section featuring crowd-pleasers like Clue, Ticket to Ride, and Taboo, with fresh titles arriving monthly.

This major UI overhaul solves a longstanding discoverability problem for Amazon Luna, which originally launched in the US in early March 2022 before expanding to the UK, Germany, and Canada by the following year. While millions of Prime members had cloud gaming included as a standard membership perk, a massive portion of the subscriber base never realized the benefit existed. 

Growing the Gaming Audience Beyond Console and PC

Amazon General Manager of Gaming Jeff Gattis noted that removing the friction of app-switching is meant to get subscribers actively playing. "For a lot of people, games have been harder to find than they should be," said Gattis. "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. That's less time searching and more time playing great games included with their Prime membership."

Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz about the changes, Gattis emphasized that the newly integrated Luna takes a different approach from competitors, aiming to grow the gaming audience beyond console and PC rather than fighting a traditional hardware war. "The world doesn't need another high-end gaming platform," Gattis explained. "Between Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox, even Epic Games Store, there's lots of places to go buy these games, and increasingly play them on all the platforms. And they're all fighting each other for the same set of customers." 

He admitted that Amazon has shifted its strategy entirely: "Historically, Amazon Luna tried to compete on the same playing field. The thought was we're going to go get people to turn in their consoles and drop their gaming PCs and come to Luna. We've kind of abandoned that. That's a red ocean that we don't really want to fight in right now. But we do see opportunity for people who don't own dedicated gaming hardware."

Placing Luna inside Prime Video taps into a massive global pipeline of over 300 million monthly active users, unlocking what industry insiders call transmedia synergy, as per Sherwod. Amazon is actively linking games to its major film and television franchises to turn Prime into a one-stop entertainment hub. For example, viewers streaming the Masters of the Universe movie can immediately switch tabs to play Masters of the Universe: Legends Unite, a cooperative deck-building card game set in the exact same world.

While this built-in experience is currently limited to Fire TV devices in the US and UK,with standalone Luna app access still available across PCs, Macs, smartphones, and tablets, Amazon officials signal that expansions to new devices and countries are on the horizon.