What’s going on?

Amazon announced its foray into the video game streaming industry.

What does this mean?

• Amazon unveiled Luna, a service that’ll let gamers play famous titles without the need for a console or physical games, which will cost $5.99/month, which undercuts Google’s rival streaming games service, Stadia.
• While Stadia could help Google grow YouTube into a massive gaming and esports hub, Amazon’s new venture could lead to synergies of its own by combining Luna with existing video streaming service Twitch to create yet another giant subscription and advertising business.

Why should I care?

For you personally: New battlegrounds

• The fight in the movie and music streaming services between Amazon, Apple, Google, and Netflix is already intense, and now it has come to video games.
• Besides Google, Amazon also has stiff competition in Microsoft, whose Xbox segment is still growing quickly. But the real winner is the one with lower prices and even more choice.

The bigger picture: New levels.

The $150 billion video games market is increasingly moving away from one-time purchases and toward subscription and freemium options.

• Fortnite – a pioneer of the latter – made $2 billion last year, mostly from in-game purchases.
• But with lockdowns looming and a new PlayStation and Xbox coming soon, there could be life in the old console business yet.

Content source: Finimize. (2020) Game over. Available at: https://www.finimize.com/wp/news/game-over/ [Accessed on Semptember 26, 2020]