Nvidia's Cloud Gaming Service, GeForce Now, Open to All for Free

Nvidia's cloud gaming service, GeForce Now, is moving out of its public beta and becoming available to all.

Following years of testing, Nvidia announced on Tuesday that anyone can try out the service for free, without needing to join a wait list. GeForce Now is somewhat like a Netflix service but for gaming, enabling you to enjoy the best PC graphics without paying for the pricey hardware. The big perk is how it'll let you play games you already own on your Steam account, negating any need to buy your favorite PC titles again.

The service currently works over an app, which can be downloaded for Windows, macOS, Android, and the Nvidia Shield TV hub. All you'll need is an internet connection (at least 15Mbps) for a 720p 60 frame-per-second gameplay experience. A 25Mbps connection will upgrade the resolution to 1080p.

The free service works by offering you a 1-hour session to an Nvidia server, which can be used to log into your Steam or Epic Games account. You'll then be able to quickly install the desired game and run it.

"Free users will receive pop-up notifications on all platforms at 40, 30, 20, and 10 minutes, and at 5 seconds before the session ends. They can launch their next session immediately after their previous," a company spokesperson told PCMag.

There's no limit to the number of sessions you can play in a day, but the free service doesn't guarantee you immediate access to an Nvidia server. For priority access, you'll have to upgrade to a premium account and pay $4.99 a month. In return, your gaming sessions will be extended up to six hours, and you'll be able to enjoy games with Nvidia's RTX graphics.

(Installing a game over your Steam account on the Nvidia GeForce Now cloud server)

On Tuesday, we were briefly able to play the games Dishonored and Doom over GeForce Now on a Mac via a free account. Attempts to use the service often failed to connect us to an Nvidia server, though, so your access to GeForce Now may be hit-or-miss. "Free users may encounter wait times during peak gaming periods," Nvidia's spokesperson said.

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When you sign up for a premium membership, Nvidia says, your first three months of access will be free; you'll then be charged $4.99 a month for the rest of of 2020. GeForce Now currently supports more than 500 games.

We've tested GeForce Now and rated it as the most appealing game-streaming service on the market. But it's facing competition from Google, which is trying to attract consumers to its own cloud gaming service, Stadia, which launched back in November. Stadia can also let you stream games to a PC, Android phone, and smart TV via the Chrome browser or Chromecast Ultra dongle.

Although Stadia plans to launch as a free service eventually, along with a $9.99 a month plan, it's currently available only to consumers who fork over $129. In exchange, they get three months of access, a Chromecast Ultra Dongle, and a dedicated controller, along with other perks. But you'll need to buy each individual game.

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