GeForce Now is Nvidia’s cloud gaming service, and you can try it out for free. But of course, you get what you pay for: The free version of the service has some fairly strict time limits and its visuals are limited. Back in December Nvidia opened a super-premium tier powered by remote GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards, especially handy for anyone who couldn’t actually buy one, but it was limited to a six-month purchase. Today you get an option to try it out one month at a time.
It’s not cheap, mind you. The lesser-powered GFN “Priority” tier with 6-hour streaming sessions goes for $10 a month, while the new “RTX 3080” tier (that’s its name, don’t wear it out) is $20 a month. You can save a little bit of dough by buying in bulk with the older 6-month packages: Priority is $50, RTX is $100, effectively a free month for each.
The most expensive option boosts maximum session lengths to 8 hours, with resolution at up to 1440p and 120FPS on your PC or 4K HDR on the Nvidia Shield set-top box. The RTX 3080 tier also benefits from some extra-fancy technology to reduce streaming latency.
As a refresher: Unlike Stadia and Luna which require you to buy games exclusively for their services, and Xbox Game Pass streaming, which has an all-you-can-play Netflix library model, GeForce Now leans on the collection of PC games that you’ve already purchased from other storefronts. The service will remotely stream hundreds of the most popular Windows games, connecting with users’ store accounts on Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, and Ubisoft Connect.
It’s a great option if you’ve spent the last decade or two building up a Steam library that’s longer than the average CVS receipt. Looking for a more in-depth report? Check out our guide to GeForce Now.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer
Michael is a former graphic designer who's been building and tweaking desktop computers for longer than he cares to admit. His interests include folk music, football, science fiction, and salsa verde, in no particular order.