Amazon today revealed a refreshed Fire TV Stick, a new Fire TV Stick Lite and Luna, its new subscription cloud gaming service.
The new Fire TV Stick, priced at $39.99, features a 1.7 GHz quad-core processor, 1080p at 60fps with HDR compatibility, dual-band and dual-antenna Wi-Fi with support for 5 GHz networks, Dolby Atmos for immersive sound with compatible content and speakers, and an Alexa voice remote. Amazon said the new device consumes 50% less power than the previous generation.
Fire TV Stick Lite is a similar device that supports full HD streaming and HDR support for $29.99.
Amazon is also introducing a redesigned Fire TV experience that will begin rolling out globally later this year, starting with the new Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick Lite.
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Amazon also said its U.S. customers can request early access to Amazon Luna, a new cloud gaming service. Luna+ will be offered at an introductory price of $5.99/month during the early access period. The service will provide streaming access to games including “Resident Evil 7” and “Control” as resolutions up to 4K/60fps for select titles.
Luna will include separate subscription gaming channels beginning with Ubisoft, which will offer 4K resolution, mobile gameplay and access to new titles like “Assassins Creed Valhalla,” “Far Cry 6” and “Immortals Fenyx Rising” the same day they release. The company said it’s working with more video game publishers on additional channels.
"We're proud to be working alongside Amazon on Luna, utilizing the power of cloud gaming to provide our players with another way to access our games, wherever they are," said Chris Early, senior vice president of partnerships and revenue at Ubisoft, in a statement. "Ubisoft's channel on Luna will allow players to experience our new releases along with many of our catalog games, while enjoying player-friendly features like Alexa and Twitch integrations."
Customers can play Luna with a keyboard and mouse, a Bluetooth game controller or the new Luna Controller, an Alexa-enabled and connects directly to the cloud. Amazon said the Luna Controller uses multiple-antenna design that prioritizes un-interrupted Wi-Fi for lower latency gaming with reductions of between 17 to 30 milliseconds among PC, Fire TV and Mac. Because the Luna Controller connects directly to cloud servers, players can switch between screens—such as Fire TV to mobile phone—without additional pairing or configuration changes. Luna Controller is available at an introductory price of $49.99 during the early access period.
At launch Luna will be available on Fire TV, PC and Mac as well as on web apps for iPhone and iPad, with Android coming soon.