Skip to main content

GameFly launches video game streaming service on Amazon Fire TV

gamefly new video game streaming service news
Image used with permission by copyright holder
GameFly, the rental service that sends you games in the mail, is launching a new video game streaming service today.  GameFly has also revealed today that it has acquired streaming service Playcast, which will power the new service.

According to The Verge, GameFly’s new streaming service lets users rent games for $7 a month each. GameFly’s service includes six bundles, each containing seven games focused on a different theme. One bundle offers LEGO games while another offers adventure games such as Darksiders II and Batman Arkham titles. GameFly’s Streaming service also offers a “gamer pack” which comes with 16 games for $10 per month.

GameFly Streaming is currently only available for Amazon Fire TV, which costs $100. Most games are compatible with the $40 Amazon Fire TV controller. Using the GameFly service, users can play high-quality PC titles.

Other companies have tried to create a “Netflix for games,” but haven’t had much success. OnLive recently shut down, while PlayStation Now is just getting started. Microsoft has also talked about a streaming service for Xbox One.

According to Amazon, their FireTV has the fastest growing selection of any streaming media device, especially in the last three months. Amazon Fire TV now offers over 1,600 titles, which is more than the number offered by Roku or by Apple TV. Popular new titles include Popcornflix, Funny or Die, Candy Crush Saga, and Fox News.

GameFly says it hopes to build “the world’s premier multi-platform, console-quality streaming video game service.” Steve Rabuchin, Vice President of Amazon App Store says, “With the addition of new titles like Fox News, Popcornflix, Candy Crush Saga and GameFly, customers now have access to even more of their favorite TV shows, news content, top quality games, and live TV.”

Editors' Recommendations

Karen Tumbokon
Karen is a technology, music and entertainment writer. Originally from New Jersey, Karen began her writing career in music…
AT&T is renaming its streaming video service yet again
AT&T TV rebrands as DirecTV Stream.

AT&T is going to rename its streaming video services, which include AT&T TV, AT&T TV Now, and AT&T Watch TV, to "DirecTV Stream" on August 26, according to The Verge. Why the name change? It appears to be part of an effort to establish a new brand for the company's video properties, which were formally spun off into a new company earlier in August.

And while that might be a perfectly legitimate reason to change the service's name, it's enough to make our heads spin. Since 2019, AT&T has engaged in a confusing set of product launches and rebranding efforts that have used both AT&T and DirecTV names. The company's original effort at a cable TV alternative streaming service was called DirecTV Now. You could use it with your existing broadband internet connection and it didn't require a set-top box. This service was rebranded as AT&T TV Now, but ended up eventually being absorbed by AT&T TV, a service that still delivered live TV content over the internet, but required a dedicated Android TV set-top box, making it the logical successor to AT&T's U-verse TV service. All the while, the company kept alive its AT&T Watch TV service, which is a very lightweight package of more than 35 live TV channels.

Read more
Insignia F50 is the first Fire TV with a quantum dot display
Insignia F50 Amazon Fire TV Edition smart TV.

Amazon's Fire TV Edition smart TVs, which were created in collaboration with Best Buy, have always focused on the very affordable end of the market, with dozens of models that cost well under $500. But today's announcement of the partnership's first quantum dot-based 4K HDR model -- the Insignia F50 -- represents the beginning of what might be a move up-market for smart TVs that are powered by Amazon's Fire TV software.

The Insignia F50 starts at $600 for a 50-inch model, making it the most expensive Fire TV Edition model of that size. It will be available later this year along with these additional sizes:

Read more
How to do two-way Zoom calling on an Amazon Fire TV Cube
Photo of people on a Zoom call using a Fire TV Cube.

In 2020, Amazon added the ability to do two-way video calls from its Fire TV Cube streaming media devices. At the time, those calls could only be made between Alexa-enabled devices with a screen, like the Echo Show. Now, Amazon is greatly expanding how you can use video calling on the Fire TV Cube through the addition of Zoom support, making your TV a giant Zoom device.

To take advantage of the new feature, you'll need:

Read more