Amazon Luna takes one step closer to Stadia, now lets you buy games

Ben Schoon | Oct 6 2023 - 9:57 am PT

Amazon Luna has been struggling to some extent with big library shuffles, but the cloud gaming platform is now introducing a big new feature – the ability to buy games.

With most cloud gaming platforms available today, everything is tied behind a subscription. Xbox Game Pass has a rotating library of games that you can stream from the cloud, but you don’t really own any of the titles that can be streamed. GeForce Now and several similar services take a different approach, with the subscription used to access the cloud platform, and all of the games being ones that you’ve purchased on PC.

Google Stadia, when it was alive, was the only cloud gaming platform that also acted as a way to buy and own games. There was no fee for the platform, just for the games.

Now, Amazon Luna is looking to split the difference.

Available now, Amazon Luna players can now purchase select Ubisoft games such as Assassin’s Creed Mirage and play the games via Amazon’s cloud platform through a Fire TV, smartphone, or a computer.

Amazon explains:

At Luna, we’re always trying to find new ways to bring more games to more people. Which is why we’re excited to announce that customers can now buy individual games on Luna. Now, customers have more ways to buy Ubisoft games like Assassin’s Creed: Mirage and playing on their Fire TV, smartphone, and any of our growing list of compatible devices.

For now, this only works for Ubisoft titles, and that’s because it works in a pretty unique and clever way. Instead of buying the game solely for Luna, purchasing the game buys a license that’s linked to your Ubisoft account and also works if you want to play the game on a PC (and GeForce Now, by extension). The act of buying the game itself happens through Amazon Luna, but requires that your Ubisoft account is linked to actually complete the purchase.

It’s a really interesting approach, and one that really makes a lot of sense for players. If Amazon Luna were to go the way of Stadia and shut down, players would already have alternate ways to play their games, and that’s a benefit that would exist even while Luna is available, as it presents the option for offline play. It will be interesting to see if other publishers adopt this same option.

An Ubisoft store is now available via Amazon Luna. Notably, too, the Amazon Luna Controller is currently discounted to $40, down from $70.