Amazon Luna and Xbox Cloud Gaming were once seen as potential rivals. However, in a recent move, Microsoft (who owns Xbox, Bethesda, Activision, etc.) has recently licensed the Fallout IP to Amazon’s Prime Video for a television series. And now, Amazon Luna has added the definitive versions of what are arguably the best Fallout games, those being Fallout New Vegas and Fallout 3. So, we have to ask: “is this the beginning of the collaboration between the two tech titans in gaming?”.
The History Between Microsoft And Amazon
The history between Microsoft and Amazon is a bit of an ugly one. Although they may not seem like it, Microsoft and Amazon have been direct competitors in cloud computing for a long time, with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure both stealing customers from one another. Both companies have also raced to build the next great AI platform. However unlike the ill-fated Google Stadia, when Amazon launched Amazon Luna they built the platform off of a version of Microsoft Windows which means games are a lot easier to port to Amazon Luna than they were for Google’s cloud gaming platform.
Xbox Has Been Releasing Its Games Everywhere
The creative teams under Microsoft Gaming (Xbox, Bethesda, Activision) have continued to support games that are owned by the tech giant on other platforms. Xbox-published games like Grounded, Minecraft, Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment have all launched or have been announced for launch on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5. Microsoft also inked deals with NVIDIA and Boosteroid to allow their games to stream on those platforms and has continuously added new games to the list of available titles across its three publishing labels.
As I mentioned above, two weeks ago, Microsoft-owned Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas landed on Amazon Luna and are available to all Amazon Prime subscribers till October. Now with all that out of the way and support for GOG.com coming to Amazon Luna, it has made me wonder if we could eventually see other Xbox games on Amazon Luna.
What Future Games Could We See From Microsoft On Amazon Luna
I think the most likely candidates are games from either Activision/Blizzard or other games in the Fallout franchise. The Fallout games are obvious due to two already being available and Amazon renewing the television series for a second season. The Activision/Blizzard games make sense as well, as Microsoft is committed to making those games multi-platform. In terms of other Activision/Blizzard games, I personally think the most likely Luna candidates are Call Of Duty Warzone, Overwatch 2 and Candy Crush.
The Ubisoft Factor
The final point we have to factor in is what I call the “Ubisoft Factor.” To appease the UK’s CMA concerns around the Microsoft Activision/Blizzard acquisition, Microsoft sold Ubisoft the rights to license out all Activision/Blizzard games for cloud streaming. The sale does take into account previous deals Microsoft made with NVIDIA and Boosteroid among other platforms for Activision/Blizzard games. Why this matters is simple: Ubisoft was a dedicated supporter of (now-defunct) cloud gaming platforms OnLive and Google Stadia. They also have a dedicated Ubisoft+ channel on Luna – allowing you to play your Ubisoft Connect games via Amazon’s servers. Ubisoft has been promising to bring Activision/Blizzard games to Ubisoft+ (in the cloud at least). And, until Ubisoft decides to roll their own cloud gaming service, that means Luna.
When you factor in Ubisoft’s involvement, it looks like Activision Blizzard games like Diablo IV, Crash Bandicoot and the ever-popular Call Of Duty franchise could come to Amazon Luna. However, I do still think the more likely additions will be other games in the Bethesda-published Fallout franchise.
What do you think? Do you think we will see more Xbox-owned games on Amazon Luna? Let us know on social media.
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