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Samsung expands its TV cloud gaming lineup with Amazon Luna and Twitch

By Giovanni Colantonio June 30, 2022

Samsung has begun rolling out its new Gaming Hub on its 2022 line of smart TVs and monitors. To coincide with that launch, the company announced that Amazon Luna will be joining the service soon. Samsung Gaming Hub will also include an unexpected Twitch integration at launch.

Samsung Gaming Hub is a new feature that’ll be available on Samsung’s smart TVs and monitors going forward. It’s a dedicated hub that features several cloud gaming apps. That means that you’ll be able to play games on your TV without a console or high-end PC. You’ll just need a good enough internet connection to stream them.

Amazon Luna is the last piece of Samsung’s puzzle as it was a notable omission in the company’s launch partner lineup. It joins services like Xbox Game Pass, GeForce Now, and Google Stadia on Samsung TVs. Though, unlike those apps, Luna won’t be available right away. Samsung only notes that the app is coming “soon.”

Luna allows players to subscribe to individual channels to access games. For instance, you can pay a monthly fee to get every Jackbox Party Pack game or sign up for a retro gaming channel. In our Amazon Luna review, we noted that the service was a bit of a niche experience compared to something like Xbox Game Pass. But its inclusion on Samsung TVs will make it easier to access for interested players.

In addition to Luna, Samsung Gaming Hub will feature Twitch support at launch. Players will be able to access the streaming platform via the hub’s experience menu, which also features Spotify and YouTube.

Samsung Gaming Hub has officially begun rolling out on 2022 Samsung smart TVs and monitors starting today.

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Giovanni Colantonio

Section Editor, Gaming

Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…

Gaming

Amazon Fire TVs are getting their own cloud gaming hub featuring Luna

Home screen for Games on Fire TV

Amazon Fire TVs are getting their own cloud gaming hub dubbed Games on Fire TV. The app is similar to the Samsung Gaming Hub, though its focus is specifically on Amazon Luna rather than other streaming services.

According to a blog post that Amazon published on Wednesday, Games on Fire TV allows players to stream cloud games from their TV. If you're already subscribed to Amazon Luna, the company's cloud gaming service, you can stream games like Assassin's Creed Valhalla, play a rotating selection of games for free every month on the Prime Gaming Channel, or download games from the Fire TV app store. The games that are currently available on the Prime Gaming Channel include League of Legends, Fallout 76, Total War: Warhammer II, and Middle-earth: Shadow of War.

Gaming

Xbox Game Pass’ cloud service is coming to the Meta Quest 2 and Pro

Meta Quest Xbox Cloud Gaming

During the Meta Connect presentation, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that Xbox Cloud Gaming is coming to the Meta Quest store. That means VR users will be able to play Game Pass titles on both the Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro.

"In fact, many people are already playing our most popular games like Flight Simulator and Minecraft in VR today," says Nadella during the stream. "With xCloud gaming, you can stream hundreds of games to any device allowing you to connect with gamers in all new ways, whether they're right next to you or sitting on the other side of the world."

Gaming

Logitech made its own lightweight handheld built for cloud gaming

The Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld sits on a stack of comics.

Although I can be tough on cloud services that have faults, I actually do enjoy cloud gaming on Google Stadia and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate quite a bit, and I’m excited about the technology’s potential for both players and developers. Currently, most of my cloud gaming takes place on my phone, but Logitech and Tencent Games want me to start playing cloud games on a new device. In October, the Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld starts rolling out, and it hopes to become the way to play cloud games.
During a hands-off preview of the device, Logitech certainly delivered on highlighting an Android-powered device with two native cloud gaming apps that players can use to enjoy games with a Wi-Fi connection. At $350, though, it feels like a solution for a niche usage problem that similarly priced devices already solve. I could see myself enjoying this device if I wanted to stream a video game from my bed or a room without my TV and consoles. Unfortunately, it seems outclassed by just the ability to stream games on a midrange-or-better phone, something anyone reading this can likely do already.

What is the Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld?
From a technical perspective, the Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld contains specs that wouldn’t feel out of place on a mid-range mobile device. It features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G octa-core 2.3GHz CPU, as well as 4GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 64GB of internal storage that people can expand with an SD card. The display is a 7-inch IPS multi-touch screen that displays at a 1080p resolution with a 60Hz refresh rate. Players can listen to audio through its stereo speaker, a 3.5mm stereo audio jack, or a Bluetooth 5.1 connection.
What sets it apart is that Logitech built the controllers into the device, giving it a Nintendo Switch-like look. It has the d-pad, analog joysticks, buttons, bumpers, and triggers expected of a modern controller, plus a Home button to bring players to the home screen and a “G button” that will access more system-specific settings. Players will be able to remap the controls however they wish, though. On top of that, players can expect the Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld to have haptics feedback, a gyroscope, a light sensor, and even a built-in stereo microphone with echo canceling and noise suppression support.
These aren’t top-of-the-line specs by any means, but Logitech made this choice because the device is made for gaming natively on the device. It also allowed them to get the device’s weight down to only 463 grams and give it a battery life of around 12 hours (it uses USB-C to charge), which has never been seen on a gaming handheld. Think of the Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld as an Android 11 tablet with built-in controllers, uniquely tailored UI, and access to native Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce Now, and Google Play Store apps.