LiquidSky Game Streaming Service is making it even easier to play Windows-compatible games online, by putting games in the cloud and adding subscription options, reports Tom’s Hardware. First, the service operates in the cloud, so gamers can save their game files to LiquidSky’s cloud and then play their games from any PC, laptop or Android phone or tablet. LiquidSky promises high performance hardware with high quality graphics, ultra-low latency and lightning internet speed (1 GB per second for uploads and downloads).

Second, starting in March, gamers will have the option to pay by subscription. Up until now, LiquidSky players purchased SkyCredits equivalent to an hour of game time. Ad-free pay-as-you-go plans start at $4.99 for 100 GB of SkyStorage and priority support. Subscription plans are also ad-free and start at $9.99 for up to 1TB of cloud storage.

LiquidSky’s website explains the company’s mission:

“Our mission is to dramatically lower costs and increase the efficiency of computing by giving users access to all the computing power they need in the cloud – or in our case, the Sky! No more buying expensive hardware on your end to play any of the new and best games, just subscribe to what you need from us. We also provide a lightning-fast internet experience, something we call Sky accelerated web browsing. No more taking hours to download your favorite games – with our gigabit connection you get Sky speed! Four of the main issues surrounding cloud gaming or the consumer thin-client have been latency, cost, scalability, and catalog. We have solved all four. Welcome to the Sky.”

LiquidSky launched Beta 2.0 in March 2016. As the company grew, it purchased more servers around the world to better serve its beta testers. It also worked on optimizing the system for more devices and an enhanced user experience, according to LiquidSky’s blog. At that time, the company offer pay-as-you-go pricing with credits available at a 20 percent discount, or $0.40 each.

At the launch of Beta 2.0, LiquidSky offered a monthly plan for gamers at $14.99 a month for 60 credits and 50 GB of storage. LiquidSky offered a discounted price of $9.99 a month and promised users that anyone who signed up at that price would be grandfathered and would “never have to pay the increased price.” Active gamers could also by additional credits at $0.25 each and buy extra storage with credits. For users who didn’t use all their credits, the credits rolled over.

Insider Take:

It seems like LiquidSky’s payment structure was somewhat complicated, between figuring out standard versus promotional pricing, tracking credits used and rolled over and storage space. While there will still be a pay-as-you-go model, the subscription pricing plan makes a lot of sense. For gamers, the pricing structure is simpler. The company, on the other hand, earns consistent recurring revenue to help fund the company’s growth while simplifying tracking and support of a more complicated payment system.