Imagine it: a AAA experience gaming on a modest Chromebook or a mid-range smartphone. A few years ago, that idea was nearly inconceivable. It was generally accepted that high-performance gaming required powerful, local hardware. But, with consistent developments over the past few years, GeForce NOW has made the futuristic seeming potential of cloud gaming a modern day reality, and 2023 is shaping up to be the year of cloud gaming. Here’s how NVIDIA is making it happen:
The graphics power your need
A key element in being able to get a prime gaming experience is having the high-performance hardware that can make it happen. GeForce NOW is powered by NVIDIA’s capable gaming hardware, and puts it always within arm’s reach. Previously, the company had launched the RTX 3080 membership, which put flagship-level performance on deck. That tier is getting upgraded to deliver RTX 4080-level speeds soon, allowing for high-resolution and high-frame rates from the cloud.
GeForce NOW will support up to 240fps gameplay in the RTX 4080 powered Ultimate membership. It also bumps from the previously offered 4K/60fps peak to 4K/120fps. The platform is expanding horizontally as well, supporting ultra-wide monitors with a 21:9 aspect ratio with a max 3,840 x 1,600 resolution as well as support for the popular 3,440 x 1,440 and 2,560 x 1,080 resolutions. GeForce NOW is able to deliver these sharp and speedy gaming experiences with less than 40 milliseconds of click-to-pixel latency.
RTX enhancements
Resolution and frame rate are great and all, but the future of gaming is showing up in the real-time ray tracing and AI-powered technologies that have recently hit the scene. NVIDIA has put these technologies front and center with its recent RTX graphics cards, and it’s a testament to the magic of GeForce NOW that you can enjoy such features through the cloud.
The RTX real-time ray tracing provides life-like visuals as light behaves in a realistic manner in games, while DLSS 3 provides a dramatic improvement to framerate by using AI to generate frames that fit seamlessly between rendered frames.
A big, growing library
It would be difficult to get hyped up about cloud gaming if the games you wanted to play weren’t there, but GeForce NOW has a massive library that continues to grow each week. The platform’s library recently reached over 1,500 games. In addition to supporting a ton of games on Steam, it’s also supported by major publishers like Electronic Arts and Ubisoft.
You’ll find many recent titles like Warhammer 40,000: Darktide and Marvel’s Midnight Suns as well as hits like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and its next-gen update. Plus, GeForce NOW has a large and growing library of free-to-play titles like Genshin Impact, Fortnite, Lost Ark, and Destiny 2. To make a good thing better, you don’t have to re-buy games to play them on GeForce NOW. You’ll have access to the supported games you own on Steam, Ubisoft Connect, Epic Game Store, Origin, and GOG.
PC gaming on your chosen platform
The real magic of cloud gaming is that you’re not limited to playing on specific hardware like you are with PC gaming. You can get the true, PC gaming experience on just about any device you’ve got handy. A low-power Chromebook can run GeForce NOW. Your smartphone can run GeForce NOW. An old gaming laptop that can no longer keep up with the latest games can suddenly see new life with GeForce NOW.
The platform is available on Windows, Mac, Chrome OS, Android, and iOS devices. It can run in internet browsers and on supported smart TVs and streaming devices. There are so many ways to play games through GeForce NOW, it dramatically expands how you approach PC gaming.
Broadly accessible
What helps make 2023 extra special for cloud gaming is just how easy it is to get into. GeForce NOW offers three membership tiers. You can jump onto a basic rig and enjoy 1-hour play sessions completely free. In other words, you can try cloud gaming right now without spending a cent. To see its true potential, you can upgrade to a Priority membership or the Ultimate membership. The Priority membership gives you priority access to servers, 6-hour session lengths, and gameplay at up to 1080p/60fps for $9.99/month.
The UItimate membership bumps everything up with 8-hour sessions and support for up to 4K/240fps gaming on the fast servers, putting NVIDIA’s flagship graphics processors at your fingertips for $19.99/month — annually, that’s less than the cost of almost any graphics card launched in the last couple years.
GeForce NOW is already impressive, and throughout 2023, it’s set to just continue getting better. Every week, more features and games are added. You can find out all the latest on the platform by following the weekly GFN Thursdays blog or following the GeForce NOW on Facebook or Twitter. If you’re all ready to dive in, you can sign up for GeForce NOW here
Source: techradar.com
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