Nvidia Now’s GeForce Now cloud game launches on Google Chromebooks. GeForce Now is available in beta on Chrome OS, the cloud-based operating system that powers Chromebooks. It transforms distance learning into distance gaming.
Chromebooks are often used in educational and business settings, but they are usually underpowered when it comes to playing games. This makes them an ideal target platform for GeForce Now, which puts the heavy computer in the cloud and sends video for display on any computer or Android mobile device.
“We want to make sure you always have access to the indie games, and we make sure we work with these PC game developers and have no additional need for support,” GeForce Now senior product manager Andrew Fear said in a press release. ‘We give you instant access to all your games. We give you a GeForce gaming PC in the cloud. ”
To sign up, players can go to play.geforcenow.com, sign up and sign up for memberships that cost $ 5 a month or $ 25 for six months. GeForce Now does not use an app on Chromebooks. You just connect to the browser. The timing can be good, because distance learning, of which Chromebooks are often used, has multiplied during the pandemic. On the other hand, if parents do not want their children to play when they have to learn, this can be a problem.
However, signing up for GeForce Now on a $ 300 Chromebook may be a better deal than buying a $ 1000-plus heavy gaming PC or laptop for a family member. After all, children can study during the day and play at night. That’s the whole point of cloud gaming services like GeForce Now, Microsoft’s Project xCloud, and Google Stadiums.
“When they’re done with their homework at school, they can now stream on that notebook and play games,” Fear said.
Above: GeForce No general manager Phil Eisler at CES 2020.
Image Credit: Dean Takahashi
Since the game is stored in the cloud, players can easily switch devices without losing their progress. Games may run slower than normal, depending on the latency of your internet connection and whether a bunch of people are using your network at home. But that is a problem that most online games have these days.
In the coming weeks, Nvidia will also be bringing Ansel, its high-resolution in-game camera that allows people to take professional-quality screenshots, to GeForce Now. It features Highlights videos and Freestyle game customization as well as GeForce Now features.
Nvidia said that the CD Project supports Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 on GeForce Now. More than 650 games are immediately available on GeForce Now, including 70 free-to-play games like Fortnite.
Ubisoft’s Hyper Scape launched last week on GeForce Now, as well as PC and console platforms. GeForce now runs on PC, Mac, Shield and Android devices. But Nvidia could not convince Apple to let it run on iOS devices.
To play the games, users will have a better experience with a USB mouse, Nvidia said. Google’s own cloud game service, Stadia, is also available on Chrome OS. But because it’s an open platform, Google has not objected to GeForce Now being available on Chromebooks. Nvidia notes that testing so far has shown that Intel-based laptops and Chromebooks support GeForce Now, while ARM-based laptops do not.
GeForce now uses 22 data centers around the world and is available in 70 countries.
