With many big names in console gaming looking to cloud gaming and streaming services over the past few years, it appears that the landscape of video games looks to be as such in the near future. Joining the fray this time is Nvidia with its very own cloud gaming service, GeForce Now.
Nvidia, mostly known for manufacturing high-end graphics cards for PCs, has long had GeForce Now in beta over the past few years. Now that it’s finally out of its beta cocoon, gamers can stream PC games on Windows laptops, MacBooks, and Android phones.
What makes GeForce Now so distinct from competitors such as Google Stadia, PlayStation Now and the in-development Project xCloud is that it streams most games that you already own on your PC, via the various digital platforms such as Steam, Epic Games Store and Battle.net.
Of the games available for streaming on GeForce Now, esports and huge multiplayer games such as Overwatch, Destiny 2, Fortnite and The Division 2. Single-player hits such as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and even indie titles such as Cuphead and Slay the Spire are also available from the onset, so there is plenty of choice for players who choose to use the cloud gaming service.
However, two caveats here are that 1) the service isn’t free, and requires a US$5/month subscription fee (though there are unlimited 1-hour free trials should it pique your interest), and 2) the current library of games is not as extensive as you’d think, with heavy hitters such as Red Dead Redemption 2, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Monster Hunter World, Devil May Cry 5 and Death Stranding – most of which have been RTX poster boys and girls for Nvidia – are all absent for some reason.
Furthermore, GeForce Now is currently only available to North America, Western Europe, Russia, Korea and Japan. No mention of expansion to other regions was announced as of yet.
That said, it seems as though GeForce Now is already one-upping Google Stadia’s middling release with an already impressive list of games and a competitive price (US$5/month compared to Stadia’s US$9.99/month).
Nvidia GeForce Now is now available for subscription and download on PC, MacBook, Android, and Nvidia Shield.
Marion has a serious RPG addiction. Sometimes it bleeds into real life; he forgets to sleep because he thinks he has a Witcher’s body clock. Forgive him in advance if he suddenly blurts out terms such as “Mind Flayer” and “Magic Missile”, because never once does he stop thinking about his next Dungeons & Dragons game.
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