At its heart, Luna is not much different from Google Stadia, Nvidia GeForce Now, or any other cloud-gaming platform. The service streams games from high-end servers, so you don’t need the latest and greatest hardware to play them. In fact, one of the primary selling points is that you can play games on any device, including cell phones and Fire TVs. Where Luna differs is its payment structure. For comparison, Stadia has a free tier with basic service and a premium subscription with added features like 4K. Both have access to a library of free games, which rotate in and out monthly. There is also a more significant collection of games that users can purchase just as they would on Steam or any other digital storefront. Purchased games can be streamed whenever the subscriber wants.
The Luna model is a bit different in that it offers an assortment of smaller libraries it calls “channels,” each with differing subscription rates. So users can build their own service almost à la carte. The primary channel Luna has had from the beginning is Luna+. This bundle has 115 games across multiple genres for $5.99 per month. Later it added the Ubsoft+ collection for $17.99 featuring a rotating slate of old and new Ubisoft releases. Then it started a family subscription for $2.99 per month that currently has 44 kid-friendly games. Coinciding with today’s official US launch, Luna has expanded its subscription options, adding three more channels—Prime, Retro, and Jackbox Games.
The other two channels—Retro and Jackbox Games—are $4.99 per month and feature what you would expect judging by their names. Retro has 46 classics and throwbacks like Another World, Pong, Bloodrayne, and Missle Command. Jackbox features its namesake’s series of You Don’t Know Jack party games. The second feature is a “Luna Phone Controller.” Subscribers can use the free controller app for iOS and Android phones to play Luna on Fire TV. There is already a $50 dedicated Luna controller. Xbox and PlayStation controllers are also compatible with the service. The app adds a way for someone without a physical controller to at least try the service out before making a commitment.
