Etisalat’s new eLife TV service brings cloud gaming to the UAE for the first time, allowing gamers to play directly on their TVs.

The subscription based service gives gamers unlimited access to 20 top games with the Dh30 a month basic package, or over 40 games with a Dh50 a month premium pass.

The games available will be updated as new titles are released, and come from a range of genres, such as sports, role playing games, adventure and racing games.

Khaled Elkhouly, Etisalat’s chief consumer officer, said: “We are excited to bring this service to the market as it complements Etisalat’s vision to ensure the latest technology is available first to all of the residents in the UAE and to drive the country’s digital transformation.”

Gamers can use the new service with a number of compatible controllers, or buy a controller directly from Etisalat for Dh120.

Etisalat are delivering the streaming service with Gamestream, whose CEO Ivan Lebeau said: “Streaming video games is following the same trend as music and video, where more than 50 percent of content is streamed today, replacing conventional deployment models such as an outright purchase.”

Etisalat’s eLife already provides telephone, internet and TV services, as well as video streaming, and the company’s venture into eSports follows its telecoms partnership with the Special Olympics.

“Cloud gaming on eLife TV provides us the opportunity to address the largely untapped casual gaming market that wants to play on the big screen and not just on their mobile,” added Elkhouly.

“We believe that eSports and gaming will only continue to grow and that Etisalat will be the champion for this segment in the UAE.”

In addition to the subscription packages, Etisalat plans to launch rental options later this year, where customers could rent a particular game for 48 hours for around Dh20.