Amazon Luna game streaming lands on Fire TV, no invite needed

Stadia definitely took a PR hit when Google announced the shutdown of its in-house, first-party Stadia Games and Experiences studio (SGE). Its rivals seem to be taking the opportunity to remind people that Stadia isn't the only game in town, no pun intended. As if to prove its commitment to gaming, both for its own Amazon Game Studios as well as its nascent game streaming service, Amazon is announcing the arrival of Amazon Luna to all Fire TV owners, even those who haven't received an invite.

Launched last September, Amazon Luna has been in Early Access for a few months now and had one important requirement before you could even get in. Aside from regional restrictions (US only), one also needed to get an invitation first. In order to expand its testers, however, Amazon needed a way to get more people into the program without opening the floodgates just yet.

Fortunately, Amazon does have its own Fire TV platform that could serve that exact purpose. Starting today, owners of select Fire TV devices can simply download the Amazon Luna app and get going. No invitations are needed but they do have to select at least the Luna+ channel to have access to any game as Luna works on a "channel" basis, unlike NVIDIA GeForce NOW or Google Stadia.

Previously, you also needed an invite to even purchase a Luna Controller but that requirement is gone as well. Anyone can now buy the specially designed and branded game controller or just hook up any Bluetooth gamepad to the Fire TV.

Fire TV owners get a free 7-day trial for Luna+, after which the channel will cost $5.99 a month. Ubisoft+, the only other channel available, is a separate subscription at $14.99 per month. The invitation requirement is still in place at the moment for other supported platforms such as Android and iOS web browsers.