Amazon's head of gaming Jeff Gattis has told the BBC he believes rising technology costs will push more people towards streaming games online instead of buying new consoles. He said cloud gaming has improved significantly in recent years and is now more viable than before, although he accepted that some players will still choose to buy their own hardware.
Cloud gaming has long been promoted as the future of video games, but earlier efforts did not achieve widespread adoption, most notably with Google Stadia, which shut down in 2023. Many companies already include cloud gaming in subscription services, including Sony and Microsoft, yet many players still prefer to install games on their own devices.
Gattis's comments come as Amazon announced that it is integrating its cloud gaming service Luna into the Prime Video app, where it will sit alongside its shows and films.
Cloud gaming allows players to stream and play games online from a remote server using a phone, tablet or controller, rather than downloading and running them on a PC or console at home.
Gattis said Amazon believes there is still a large untapped audience beyond traditional console owners.
“There are somewhere between two-and-a-half and three billion people who play games around the world, but only a fraction of those own dedicated gaming hardware,” Gattis said.
He said streaming games could appeal to people who do not want to spend hundreds - or even thousands - of pounds on a console or gaming PC.
“As hardware becomes more expensive, and as streaming technology continues to improve, I think you'll naturally see more people asking whether they actually need that dedicated device,” he said.
In recent years, gaming hardware prices have risen as component costs have increased, with Sony and Microsoft both raising console prices and Valve pricing its new Steam Machine from £879.
Amazon's cloud gaming service Luna will now sit under a
