How Luma Arcade works
A real gaming PC, streamed to your browser. Here's everything that happens between your button press and the game, and everything the arcade does for the people playing.
From your button to the game, and back
The games run on the Glitch Studio's Server. Your browser sends it your controls and gets a live video of the game back - many times a second, in both directions at once.
Just a web page
Your browser decodes the video with your device's own hardware, plays the sound, and reads your controller, keyboard, mouse or the on-screen touch controls.
The front door
Checks who you are and whether it's your turn, enforces play time, passes messages around, and keeps the PC tidy between players. Everything is encrypted on the way.
The live link
Sets up a direct, low-latency connection to your browser (WebRTC). If a direct route isn't possible it goes through a relay, and as a last resort over a regular web connection.
Capture and compress
Grabs every frame the PC draws, and the graphics card compresses it (H.265 or H.264) in a few milliseconds. Your controls arrive as a virtual controller plugged into the PC.
A real PC, running for you
ES-DE is the console-style menu. It starts your PC games (Steam, Epic, Xbox app, EA, GOG, Ubisoft), or the right emulator for the games you own, full screen.
The round trip
Button press to new frame on your screen typically takes tens of milliseconds at home, a little more over the internet. A wired connection helps the most.
What happens when you press Play
A lot gets done in the few seconds before the picture appears.
-
Sign in
With the name an admin gave you, or a guest link.
-
Pick an app
ES-DE for consoles, Steam Big Picture for PC games.
-
Quick speed test
About a second, to pick a starting picture quality.
-
The PC gets ready
Loads your saves, resizes its screen to yours, and brings the game to the front.
-
Play
Quality adjusts itself as you go. Home and window switching are one tap away.
-
Leave
Your game waits for you, and your saves are snapshotted when it closes.
Everything the arcade does
Built for a shared PC that lots of people play on - at home and from anywhere.
Your controller, or touch
Plug in any controller - it joins on the first button press. On a phone, on-screen touch controls change layout to match the system you're playing.
Automatic quality
Watches your connection every two seconds and steps the picture up or down smoothly - without dropping your game.
Sized for your screen
The PC switches its own screen to your device's size and frame rate - up to 4K, and up to 240 fps at smaller sizes.
Home button
Back to ES-DE or Steam in one tap - keep the game running in the background, or close it.
Window picker
Hold Alt+Tab in the quick panel to see every open window on the PC and jump to the one you want.
Your whole library
The PC's own games from Steam, Epic, the Xbox app, EA, GOG and Ubisoft, plus ES-DE and its emulators for the console games you own.
Co-op, up to 4 players
Invite people into your game from the People panel. Everyone plays on the same screen, each with their own controller.
Watch
Join as a spectator to see what someone is playing without taking a controller.
Guest links
A link that lets a friend without an account have a turn, or join a game, for a set amount of time.
Messages and announcements
News from an admin pops up on the home screen and in your stream, so nobody misses it.
A fair queue
Ask for the PC, wait in line, and get it held for you the moment it's free.
Your play stats
See your play time and top games for the week, and choose whether the welcome page shows what you're playing.
Saves that are yours
Your game saves and ES-DE favorites stay separate from everyone else's, with snapshots you can go back to.
Play time limits
Daily and weekly limits where an admin sets them, with a warning before time runs out.
Lockdown
While anyone but an admin is playing, the PC's settings and admin tools close the moment they open. Games are all you can reach.
Health checks
The arcade keeps checking the streaming host, drivers, screen, backups and disk space, and fixes what it safely can.
Nightly backups
Every player's saves, snapshots and the arcade's accounts are backed up every night.
Picks up where you left off
Lost your connection? The game keeps running and stays yours for a while, so you can reconnect and carry on.
One PC, shared fairly
There's one gaming PC, so there's one player in charge at a time. Here's how the PC moves between people.
- 1Ask, don't grabConnecting while someone plays sends them a request. They choose, and you see the answer straight away.
- 2Wait in lineJoin the queue instead, and when the PC frees up it's held for you for 90 seconds while your page connects.
- 3Walked away?After 15 minutes with no input, a request hands the PC over automatically.
- 4Came back?A game left running stays yours for 10 minutes (3 if someone is waiting), so a dropped connection doesn't cost you your spot.
Couch co-op, from different couches
Up to four people play the same game on the same screen, each from their own device.
- 1Invite from the People panelThe invite pops up on their home screen. They join as a player or as a spectator.
- 2Same picture for everyoneGuests see exactly the host's screen, at the host's size and frame rate, with the game's sound.
- 3Player numbers in join orderWhoever presses a button first is player 1, the next player 2, and so on - up to four controllers between everyone.
- 4The host stays in chargeGuests can play but can't go Home, switch windows or close the game.
Your progress is yours
Everyone plays on the same PC and the same emulators, but nobody overwrites anyone else's save.
- Loaded when you connectMemory cards, in-game saves and save states, plus your ES-DE favorites and play counts, swap in before the game starts.
- SnapshotsSave a snapshot of all your saves from the settings, and restore one when you need to. Up to 10 are kept.
- Automatic ones tooWhenever a game closes, a snapshot is taken for you - separate from your own, so they never push yours out.
- Your first timeYour first time, your saves start from the shared set the PC already had, and are yours from then on.
Sharp when it can be, smooth when it can't
Automatic quality picks the best picture your connection can hold, and moves between steps without interrupting the game.
Starting from the speed test
- 1A head startA one-second speed test picks the first step, and the arcade remembers what worked for you last time.
- 2Always watchingEvery two seconds it checks lost packets, dropped frames and delay. A few bad checks in a row step it down.
- 3Climbing backAfter a stretch of clean playing it tries the next step up - and backs off for a while if that one doesn't hold.
- 4No blackoutsThe new quality starts in the background and takes over only once its first frame is ready, so the game never stops.
Private, secure and kept in order
Letting people play on a real PC means being careful about what they can reach.
A games-only Windows account
The streamed desktop belongs to a separate account with only the games on it. Nobody streaming can see Luma's own files, browser or passwords, and it can't change the PC.
Encrypted connections
The site and the stream are served over HTTPS through Cloudflare, so your sign-in and your game never travel in the open.
Accounts and roles
Everyone signs in with their own account. Admin tools are for admins only, and guesses at passwords are slowed right down.
Guest access that expires
Guest links carry their own time limit and end automatically. An admin can see who's using one, message them, or switch it off.
Built on great open-source projects
Luma Arcade ties together proven streaming and emulation software, and adds everything a shared arcade needs.
Streaming
Sunshine captures and encodes on the PC's graphics card; moonlight-web-stream brings the Moonlight protocol to the browser over WebRTC; Luma Arcade handles accounts, turns and the rest.
Games
ES-DE is the console-style library you browse with a controller. It launches the best emulator for each system, full screen.
Good to know
Do I need to install anything?
No. It all runs in a web browser - Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox - on a phone, tablet, laptop or TV.
Can I use my own controller?
Yes. Connect it to your device (USB or Bluetooth) and press a button once the stream starts. Xbox, PlayStation and most other controllers work. On a phone without one, use the on-screen touch controls.
Why does the picture sometimes get softer?
That's automatic quality stepping down so the game stays smooth when your connection struggles. It climbs back up once things are steady. A wired connection, or being closer to your Wi-Fi, helps the most.
What happens if my connection drops?
The game keeps running on the PC and stays yours for a while. Reconnect and you're back where you were.
Can a friend play with me?
Yes. Invite them from the People panel if they have an account. If they don't, an admin can make them a guest link.
Can other people see what I'm playing?
Only if you turn on "Show what I'm playing" in your settings - then the welcome page shows it. Admins can see play history.
How do I get an account?
Use "Request an account" on the welcome page. An admin gets your request and sets you up.
Ready to play?
Sign in to pick a game, or head back to the welcome page to ask for an account.