Nvidia’s entry into the streaming wars is having some impressive successes and big challenges.
Streaming games is increasingly becoming a viable option as companies compete and server technology improves. Instead of throwing hundreds or thousands on a separate console or gaming PC, you can use anything from the best gaming phone to a laptop as a great gaming machine, giving players more choice.
A recent major entrant is NVIDIA GeForce Now, a streaming service for PC games players already own. Nvidia claims more than a million players have tried it so far. While some publishers choose not to support this streaming platform, it does have several major brands supporting it. GeForce Now is clearly a viable option for game streaming, alongside the likes of Google Stadia, Xbox Game Pass, and Amazon Luna.
what is GeForce Now?
GeForce Now is NVIDIA’s streaming service. Unlike platforms like Stadia, it doesn’t require repurchasing games or restricting itself to one library of games. Instead, players simply stream the PC games they own on different storefronts, including Steam, the Epic Games Store, and Uplay.
Since games are streamed from NVIDIA hardware, that means gamers can try out advanced graphics features like 4K HDR or ray tracing on smaller platforms — features that would cost quite a bit to run on native hardware. You can use the service on other PCs and Macs, NVIDIA Shield devices, mobile devices, and more.
GeForce Now: List of supported devices
GeForce Now is compatible with PC, Mac and Android. On PC and Mac, your device needs to meet certain basic requirements, or you can guarantee compatibility with the NVIDIA Shield TV Box. If you’re not sure if your device can handle it, check out our full list of GeForce Now compatible devices.
In terms of internet bandwidth, you don’t need blazing speeds to connect to NVIDIA’s data centers, but you do need a very fast connection to stream at optimal settings. According to NVIDIA’s website, the bandwidth requirements for streaming on GeForce Now are as follows:
- 10 megabits per second – required broadband connection speed
- 20 megabits per second – recommended for 720p 60FPS quality
- 50 megabits per second – recommended for 1080p 60FPS quality
- 60 ms ping time to one of six NVIDIA data centers around the world
Yes GeForce Now free?
GeForce Now has a free tier that lets you play for an hour. The paid tier is $5 per month and includes higher-priority start-to-play rights and extended sessions that are not limited to one hour. These options are called Free and Founder’s versions, respectively.
free | Founder member | |
---|---|---|
right to use | standard | priority |
game time | One hour | Extended length |
RTX | ❌ | ✔️ |
Free trial | Do not | 90 days free |
Price | free | $4.99/month for a year |
Yes GeForce Now Still in beta?
Do not. While it has been in beta testing for several years, the streaming service exited beta testing on February 4, 2020. Since then, more than 1 million gamers have tried GeForce Now, according to NVIDIA.
GeForce Now game list
The exact number of games available to players on GeForce Now is too numerous to list because there are simply too many. Nvidia claims more than 1,000 games are compatible with the service, and maintains an updated list of games on its website so fans can make sure the games they want to play will work on the streaming service.
In addition to putting together a curated list of their own, NVIDIA also highlights new games that are served every Thursday. Some of the biggest and best GeForce Now offers include:
- pioneer
- die under the sun
- World of Tanks
- D
- Fortnite
- Warframe
- control
- Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
start streaming
GeForce Now
NVIDIA Free
NVIDIA’s cloud game streaming service is one of the best available today, delivering lag-free gaming at 1080p/60 FPS. The best part about the service is that you don’t need a high-end machine to run it, so there’s a good chance you’re ready to go. The $5 per month plan also makes it an immediately enticing option for seasoned gamers.
PC game streaming
NVIDIA Shield Android TV Pro
$200 at Amazon $200 at Best Buy
Stream 4K HDR
The latest version of NVIDIA SHIELD TV Gaming Edition is the perfect hub for streaming PC games – 4K HDR RTX quality remains the same.
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