Amazon’s game streaming service is now available in Canada, and the Diablo IV beta sets the stage for June’s launch.

Amazon’s streaming web service, Luna, launches in Canada

Starting today, Amazon Luna is available in Canada. The video game streaming service, which runs on the cloud technology of Amazon Web Services, has been available in the U.S. since the fall of 2020.

Luna is also launching in Germany and the UK.

This is similar to what Google tried to do with Stadia. Playstation and Xbox also have cloud streaming services.

But the basic Amazon Luna service is now free to Canadians with an Amazon Prime membership, and provides a selection of games for free that can be played on computers, smartphones, and Fire TV televisions or screens with a Fire TV streaming stick.

A Luna+ subscription costs $13 a month, and provides a larger catalogue of games to play, including favourites like the Castlevania Collection, Control, and Overcooked.

Ubisoft is all-in on Luna, providing access to its entire catalogue of games to be streamed for a subscription of $23 a month. That gives you Assassin’s Creed games, Far Cry, Tom Clancy franchise games, and Watch Dogs.

There’s also a Jackbox Games subscription for $6.50 that delivers multiplayer party games.

You can use PS4 and Xbox One controllers to play, or you can opt for the Luna Controller ($90), which allows you to switch screens – from your TV to your computer, for example – without any delay.

The Amazon Luna service delivers all of this without you needing to own a console. Although you will need a decent internet connection.

First impressions of Diablo IV

Last weekend was the early access beta release of Diablo IV, and I spent a couple of hours playing as a rogue and learning about the world of Sanctuary, where the demon, Lilith, has been summoned.

I played through part of the first section of the game, Fractured Peaks, and was completely taken in by the environments and running around collecting loot and killing dark creatures. This game is fully voiced, and the range of talent included here is phenomenal.

While I only scraped the surface of the world, it’s vast and extensive, and there’s a broader story being told than you might expect from a top-down action role-playing game.

Starting Friday, March 24 (at 9 a.m.), everyone can get in on the beta, which will run until Monday, March 27 (at noon), and the full lineup of classes will be available, including barbarians, druids, necromancers, rogues, and sorcerers.

And if you get a character to level 20, you’ll get a wolf companion when you play the final release.

The beta provides the developers at Blizzard with an opportunity to test a number of aspects of the game, particularly how to balance the load on servers from the volume of people wanting to play the game. As such, there may be performance issues and hiccups when you’re playing.

Be patient knowing that having to deal with those frustrations now means, hopefully, you won’t have to deal with them when Diablo IV releases for real on June 6.