1. Introduction §

There are not many cloud gaming services around, here is a quick summary of Xbox Gaming and Amazon Luna services.

2. Xbox Cloud Gaming (Microsoft) §

The Xbox Cloud gaming service is available for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers at a price of 17.99$€ / month.

2.1. pros §

• Huge game library including games available their first day of release
• Game library can be installed on xbox and Windows and game saves are shared (THIS CAN NOT BE USED ON LINUX!)
• Low bandwidth usage (rarely more than 750 kB/s average)
• Per-game customized layout for touchscreen devices
• 14 days trial for 1€ (there are many giveaways or price cut voucher available here and there)

2.2. cons §

• Poor video quality in 1080p due to a low bitrate
• Highest option is 1080@60Hz
• Streamed games are running on Xbox Series S hardware, so some games are locked at 30 FPS (hello Starfield)
• Better xcloud configuration is required to play in best conditions
• Saves can not be exported to reuse with Steam/GOG games

better-xcloud GitHub page: Userscript to improve Xbox Cloud Gaming (xCloud)

2.3. Conclusion §

The Xbox Ultimate subscription bundles a game library for Xbox and Windows games with high price titles, this makes the price itself quite cheap compared to the price of available games as a high-priced game is more expensive than four months of subscription. However, I have mixed feelings about the associated streaming service: on one hand it works perfectly fine (no queue, input lag is ok) but the video quality is not fantastic on a 1080p screen. The service seems perfectly fitted to be played on smartphones, every touchscreen compatible games have a specific layout customized for that game, making the touchscreen a lot more usable than displaying a full controller over the layout when you only need a few buttons, in addition to the low bandwidth usage it makes a good service for handheld devices. On desktop, you may want to use the streaming to try a game before installing it, but not much more.

There is no client for Android TV, so you can not use these devices except if you can run a web browser in it.

Really, with a better bitrate, the service would be a blast (not for 4k and/or 120 fps users though), but at the moment it is only ok as a game library, or as a streaming service to play on small or low resolution screens.

3. Luna (Amazon) §

The Luna+ cloud gaming service is available for 9.99$€ / month, or people who have an Amazon Prime account.

3.1. pros §

• Couch coop link to invite a friend
• You can play some games you own in GOG/Epic/Ubisoft libraries
• Bundled with Amazon Prime (if you have Prime, you can use Luna)
• Low bandwidth usage (rarely more than 1 MB/s average)
• A free try of 7 days (when cancelling, make sure to accept the THREE confirmation steps)
• Compatible with most devices / OS

3.2. cons §

• Poor game library although there are a couple of good titles (I only account Luna games)
• Poor bitrate
• Highest option is 1080@60Hz
• Average performance
• Static ads when starting a game
• Cancelling subscription is using tricks so you do not cancel it

3.3. Conclusion §

The service could be good with a better bitrate, the input lag is ok and I did not experience any waiting time. The hardware specs seem good except the loading times, it feels like the data are stored on a network storage with poor access time or bandwidth. The bitrate is so bad that I can not recommend playing anything in first person view or moving too fast as it would look like a pixel mess. However, playing slow paced games is perfectly fine.

There have a killer feature that is unique to their service, you can invite a friend to play a game in streaming with you by just sending them a link, they will join your game, and you can start playing together in a minute. While it is absolutely cool, the service lacks fun games to play in couch coop...

As you can use Luna if you have Amazon Prime, I think it is a good fit for casual players who do not want to pay for games but would enjoy a session from time to time on any hardware.

I mentioned the subscription cancelling process twice, here are the facts: on your account you click on unsubscribe, then it asks if you are really sure because you will lose access to your service, you have to agree, then it will remind you that you are about to cancel, and maybe it is a mistake, so you need to agree again, then there is a trick. The web page says that your account will be cancelled and that you can still use your account up to cancel date, it looks fine here, but it is not, there is a huge paragraph of blah blah below and a button to confirm the cancel! Then you are done. But first time I cancelled I did not pass the third step as I thought it was fine, when double-checking my account status before the renewal, I saw I missed something.

4. GeForce NOW (NVIDIA) §

I wrote a review of their services a few months ago. Since then, I renewed my account with 6 months of priority tier. I mostly use it to play resource intensive games when it is hot at home (so my computer does not heat at all), at night when I want to play a bit in silence without fan noise, finally I enjoy it a lot with slow paced games like walking simulators on my TV.

2024-03-07 GeForce NOW review

5. Final conclusion §

On one hand, Luna seems to target casual users: people who may not notice the bad quality or input lag and who will just play what is available.

On the other hand, Xbox service is a game library first, with a streaming feature. It is quite perfect for people playing Xbox library games on PC / Xbox who wants to play on a smartphone / tablet occasionally, but not for customers looking only for playing streaming games.

Both services would not need much to be _good_ streaming services, the minimum upgrade should be a higher bitrate. Better specs would be appreciated too: improved loading times for Luna, and Xbox games running on a better platform than Xbox Series S.