Which cloud gaming service is the best?

Amazon Luna

Amazon Luna is an upcoming cloud gaming service by Amazon. It is currently in closed beta test in the US that's invitation-only.

Luna is like Google Stadia, but instead of buying individual games, you subscribe to channels. As of today, there are only two channels available - an Amazon selection of games called Luna Plus and Ubisoft Plus.

And just like Stadia, Amazon is also selling a Luna controller that connects directly to Amazon's servers.

Luna Plus costs $6 and offers 50 titles - most of them are indie - like Brothers - but you do get some AAA ones, too - Control, Metro Exodus, GRID, The Surge 1&2.

The Ubisoft Plus channel gives you access to the coolest Ubisoft games, but it costs $15 per month.

Currently, in this early stage, Luna streams in 1080p, and while it requires a minimum of 10Mbps connection, 20Mbps or more are recommended. 4K streaming is coming in later in 2021, too.

We like that Luna doesn't want you to buy games, which you'd lose if you leave the service. The subscription method seems the better choice for streaming services, though Amazon needs to get more attractive publisher names on board.

Final words

The future of cloud gaming seems bright, and it may as well render the high-end PCs or consoles obsolete. Microsoft and NVIDIA seem to be playing for that, though none is all-in, at least not for now.

Stadia and Luna look promising, too, though they are still in very early stages and have a laundry list of stuff that needs fixing before reaching the masses.

Microsoft's Game Pass Cloud seems like the service with the most potential and best value for money as far as games are concerned. It's quite versatile, and it has both EA and Ubisoft onboard. Sure, it isn't with the best visual quality, but this concern will disappear after the Series X server upgrade in a few months.

NVIDIA GeForce Now is great if you already own games that are compatible with the service. It costs half of Microsoft's Game Pass Cloud, and it offers Ray Tracing so you can experience the best graphics quality the games have to offer.

Stadia and Luna are still in development, and we are yet to see how they will turn out. Knowing the size of Google's graveyard, we'd wait a year before spending money on Stadia, just to be safe.

We are hopeful about the future of cloud gaming, especially when it works such great on the go, too. You can play on your phone or tablet wherever you are, no need for cables, devices, storage space, special screens, discs, and whatnot.

We can only imagine when these services release apps for Smart TVs so we can ditch the consoles entirely and jump seamlessly between phone, tablet or TV. There are many great games to play in each service until then, so you won't get bored.