Everything you need to know about Amazon Prime Gaming
Figure out what Prime Gaming is all about.
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Amazon Prime
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With the rise of streaming models and services for film and television has come a push for similar trends in the gaming sphere. Companies like Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo are working to create accessible, subscription-based models for gaming that mirror services like Netflix and Hulu. The most notable instance of this is Xbox Game Pass, which gives players access to a huge library of games for a low monthly cost.
As the owners of Twitch, Amazon already has a massive hand in the current state of gaming, but they’ve also added new perks for Prime members in the form of their smaller-scale gaming service — but what is Prime Gaming, and how does it compare to other options?
Access Amazon Gaming by signing up for Prime today.
What is Prime Gaming?
Prime Gaming is an additional service that comes with the cost of a Prime subscription. Amazon Prime Gaming features in-game loot, free games for download, and more perks, and it functions as an add-on to Prime's other services.
To access Prime Gaming, you'll have to go to Twitch or be directed from your Amazon Prime account. There, you'll activate Prime Gaming to connect it to your Prime account. If you already have a Prime membership, you'll be directed back to Prime Gaming once you've signed in. You also have the option to link your Twitch.tv account to Prime Gaming, which is recommended since a lot of the perks associated with Prime Gaming are funneled through Twitch. You’ll even see a Prime icon in Twitch’s menu bar that gives you convenient access.
You can get an Amazon Prime subscription for $14.99/month or $139 per year. You can also get Prime Gaming if you only have a Prime Video Membership, which costs $8.99/month. However, the Twitch channel subscription benefit is only included with a full Prime membership. In both cases, Prime Gaming can be accessed at no additional cost as part of Amazon Gaming Prime benefits.
What do you get with Prime Gaming?
Perhaps the most well-known benefit of Prime Gaming is the free Twitch subscription that comes with the service, allowing you to subscribe to one Twitch channel for free (regular subscriptions to a channel cost $4.99) as long as you maintain your Prime Gaming subscription. In addition to the Twitch subscription, you can also get:
- Game loot that updates every month, such as League of Legends skins, Fall Guys costumes, Apex Legends skins, FIFA 21 content, and more for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. This includes everything from free cards in Hearthstone to operator skins in Call of Duty: Mobile to full themed character packs for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. If you’re a Pokémon GO or Overwatch 2 player, keep an eye out for free items in the former and tier skips in the latter, as these rewards recur with some frequency.
- Free PC games every month including LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Saints Row: Gat out of Hell, Table Manners, The Last Blade 2, Samurai Shodown V Special, The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match, Shock Troopers, Metal Slug 3, and more. These titles rotate monthly and may vary depending on availability.
- A Twitch crown chat badge
- Exclusive Twitch emotes
- Extended Twitch VOD and broadcast storage
- Free access to Amazon Luna, Amazon’s cloud gaming service. Luna titles rotate monthly and often include big-name titles like Fortnite and Control, but can be an effective way to trial lesser-known indie games for free.
How does Prime Gaming compare to other gaming services?
Amazon gaming prime perks alone aren't a strong enough reason to become a Prime member. Prime Gaming can’t reasonably be compared to a robust subscription service like Xbox Game Pass, or even a smaller subscription for online play and games like Nintendo Switch Online, because it's not intended to function as a one-stop shop for games and gaming content. That said, pairing it with other Prime benefits, like shopping deals during events such as Amazon Prime Day, can help maximize the value of your membership.
Rather, Prime Gaming seems to be a kind of supplementary perk. They do feature games from indie studios as well as loot that would benefit gamers who prefer battle royale-style games or MMOs, so if you're a PC gamer with a preference for online play (or freemium games), it's definitely worth taking a look at their catalog of extras.
Twitch users stand to get the most from Prime Gaming. If you're a Twitch viewer who enjoys juggling multiple subscriptions, the free Twitch sub from Prime Gaming is a great perk. Additionally, if you're a Twitch creator, Prime Gaming will allow you to save past broadcasts for 60 days instead of the standard 14, which is extremely beneficial if you're a smaller creator looking to maintain content on the platform.
The way Prime Gaming is currently set up, we would recommend that you add it if you're already a Prime member, but the price is slightly high for the perks available if you sign up for Prime for the Gaming perks alone. That said, it is a great addition to the Prime services wheelhouse, and the library of downloadable titles and in-game bonuses continues to evolve over time.
What is Prime Gaming? Sign up for Prime and find out.
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