Amazon's Cloud Gaming Service Luna Enters Early Access

Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) said Tuesday it is issuing invitations to a “small set of customers” in the United States to access its cloud-based gaming service Luna.

What Happened: The early access program will rope in streamers and players — core, casual, and first-time gamers — for providing feedback, Amazon said in a statement.

Early access gamers will have access to Luna on Fire TV, PC, and Apple.com’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) Mac computers. Access is also available through web apps for the iPhone and iPad. The service will also be available on Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android soon, according to Amazon. 

The Luna+ Game channel is available for the early access users at $5.99 per month with about 50 games available. 

Players can use their own Bluetooth controllers or purchase the Luna controller with Alexa for $49.99, which the Jeff Bezos-led company claims offers a lower latency.

Why It Matters: The Seattle-based e-commerce giant said it would invite more players to join Luna over the coming months.

The cloud-based gaming space is getting increasingly crowded with offerings from Alphabet, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) vying for market share.

Mirabaud Securities analyst Neil Campling described the war for gaming as “the new mega-cap tech race,” the Financial Times reported.

Luna was launched last month along with a slew of devices by Amazon — including a flying indoor camera.

Price Action: Amazon shares closed nearly 0.3% higher at $3,217.01 on Tuesday and gained 0.22% in the after-hours session.