SimplyStream and AWS AppStream 2.0
Both put your game behind a link. The difference is where the game runs, and so what each hour of play costs you.
AWS renamed AppStream 2.0 to Amazon WorkSpaces Applications. For games, AWS now sells GameLift Streams, from $0.16 an hour (gen6n_small, Ohio) to $1.82 an hour (gen6n_ultra on Windows, Oregon) per capacity-hour.
| SimplyStream | Amazon WorkSpaces Applications | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the game runs | In the player’s browser, on their own GPU. Cloud streaming takes over on devices that can’t run the game. | On an AWS instance (graphics instances available), streamed to the browser. Built for desktop applications rather than games. |
| Engines | Unreal Engine 5.8 and 6, with early Unity support | Any Windows or Linux application |
| Price | Free plan. $0 a minute in the browser; cloud streaming per minute. Paid plans $25 and $250 a month. | By instance-hour: a stream.standard.medium is $0.10 an hour on Windows and $0.084 on Linux (us-east-1), plus $4.19 per Windows user a month. |
| Sign up yourself | Yes | Yes, in the AWS console. |
AWS AppStream 2.0 details read from its own pages on October 9, 2026. Prices exclude tax.
When AWS AppStream 2.0 is the better choice
- You are streaming business desktop software to employees.
- Your organisation already runs on AWS and wants one bill.
When SimplyStream is the better choice
- Most of your players have a device that can run the game in the browser: those sessions cost nothing per minute.
- You want an agent to build, check and ship the game for you, not just host a build you made.
- You are making a multiplayer game: dedicated servers run on SimplyStream too.
Sources
- Amazon WorkSpaces Applications
- WorkSpaces Applications pricing
- GameLift Streams pricing
- GameLift Streams gen6 announcement
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