NVIDIA Revolutionizes Cloud Gaming with GeForce NOW RTX 5080 Upgrade

Nvidia Will Let You Add Your Own Steam Games to Stream Via GeForce Now

Nvidia's announcements at the 2025 Gamescom show were sprinkled with the usual minor technology refreshes across its software platforms, but the biggest updates are coming to its GeForce Now cloud gaming service. The company upgraded its highest-end GFN server clusters ("pods") used for Ultimate members with its new RTX GeForce 5080-equivalent graphics processors and is in the process of upgrading the network pipeline to deliver faster streams with less latency. In practice, that means a lot of new capabilities mostly, but not all, for the top tier subscribers. Subscription prices are the same, for now, at least. Nvidia added Annual payment plans, though they're not any cheaper at double the price of the six-month plan. One of the most exciting new features, available to both Premium and Ultimate members, is Install-to-Play, which essentially brings back a capability that was dropped between the original beta tests and the launch in 2020, which is the ability to play Steam games not already in GFN's already optimized library. (If you're not familiar with how GFN works, it's not a game vault. It allows you to stream games you already own and the usual free-to-play games.) Install-to-Play installs your games -- still not all of them -- to a virtual machine in the cloud, which is a much faster install than downloading to your device because it's all through fat network pipes. It then streams to your device. They differ from typical GFN games since they're not as optimized and they don't get automatically updated the same way. I'm not quite sure how the updating will actually work. Install-to-Play comes with 100GB of temporary storage that vaporizes once your session ends. Nvidia will offer persistent storage options for $3/month (200GB), $5/month (500GB) and $8/month (1TB). Aside from the convenience of not having to repeatedly reinstall a game and get over 2,000 more titles available, it theoretically makes it possible to stream games with local-only saves. Nvidia also upped some of the top frame rate/resolution specs for the Ultimate plan. They rely on the Multi Frame Gen technology which is only available with the Blackwell-based 50-series GPU. Steam Deck players get a boost to a max of 90fps, and there is a new 1080/360fps option (which I believe requires an Nvidia Reflex-compatible monitor). Supporting LG TVs will be able to hit up to 4K at 120Hz and 5K for LG OLED monitors connected to Windows or Mac systems. (LG is the first partner for this feature.) Plus the company has added Logitech racing wheels to its list of supported devices. Ultimate members also have the option for Cinematic Quality Streaming. CQS uses more bandwidth, up to 100Mbps, to deliver higher bit-depth HDR (YUV 4:4:4) and resolution (by autodetecting your screen's native res) with optimized sharpening that better resolves text and reduces blur. All of the above are slated to rollout starting in September. Later in the year, Nvidia plans to debut Play Instantly on Discord, starting with Fortnite. Play Instantly will let streamers invite viewers to launch the game as a one-hour trial directly from the stream for free without an account. This capability was in Google's grand plan for Stadia, which never got off the the ground. Notable titles coming to GFN as they launch include Borderlands 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and The Outer Worlds 2. Other announcements the company made at the show include the first implementation of its RTX Hair, in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle in an update to the game coming in September. RTX Hair uses path tracing and linear swept spheres (a fascinating new type of primitive) to produce more natural looking hair and fur with less of a performance hit than current techniques. Modding fans of RTX Remix will be able to incorporate path-traced particles into older games for more realistic rendering. On the AI invasion front, Nvidia debuted The Oversight Bureau, a voice-driven puzzle game from Iconic that uses the company's speech-to-text technology to feed voice commands into the game, which combines pre-recorded dialog and AI-based contextual analysis to decide which responses to use. Nvidia made some minor optimizations to its new G-Assist AI app, reducing the amount of memory it requires and adding laptop-specific help, mostly for improving battery life. It also brought more user-requested features to the Nvidia App (which merged the GPU driver with GeForce Experience), adding DLSS global overrides and bring back some legacy 3D control panel settings.

NVIDIA's GeForce NOW game streaming gets RTX 5080 GPUs, better image quality and more

NVIDIA's GeForce NOW game streaming service is leveling-up in September with the addition of RTX 5080 GPUs, which will allow for 5K streaming at up to 120fps (or 1080p/320fps for the truly frame-hungry). While you'll need to be on the $20-a-month GeForce Now Ultimate tier to use RTX 5080 streaming servers, NVIDIA at least isn't raising that tier's price. Subscribers at that level will still receive 100 hours of monthly playtime (with 15 hours of rollover), up to eight-hour long sessions and access to all of GPU's respective DLSS features, including Frame Generation. NVIDIA claims the RTX 5080 GeForce Now servers will perform up to 2.8 times faster than the current RTX 4080 systems -- but of course, that's due to the new GPU's 4X Frame Gen capabilities, which interpolates frames using AI modeling. The 4080 only supports up to 2X Frame Generation. At launch, GeForce Now's RTX 5080 servers will support popular games like Doom: The Dark Ages, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Cyberpunk 2077 and Flight Simulator. We're still waiting for a full list of supported titles from NVIDIA, as well updates on when we can expect more games that will support the RTX 5080. While the raw power of the RTX 5080 will be the main draw for the GeForce NOW Ultimate tier, NVIDIA is also improving something that's always bothered me with game streaming: image quality. No matter the resolution and framerate I've seen while streaming games across multiple services, I've always noticed that the color fidelity and overall sharpness doesn't look as good as rendering a game locally on a PC. NVIDIA's new Cinematic Quality Streaming (CQS) aims to change that, with support for YUV 4:4:4 chroma subsampling (for more accurate colors), smoother video streaming performance with the AV1 codec, and AI video filtering to reduce artifacts. CQS will also be able to automatically detect and optimize its settings for the DPI of your screen -- that's helpful for high DPI laptop screens. With CQS turned on, GeForce Now streams will max out at a hefty 100Mbps. That'll make it ideal for people with 1Gbps or faster connections, but it could be out of reach if you've got slower internet or restrictive bandwidth caps. I've only seen a screenshot of CQS in action, but it's definitely something I'll be testing further once the new GeForce NOW servers launch in September. NVIDIA also plans to expand the number of titles on GeForce NOW with a new feature called Install-to-Play games, which will automatically get installed to cloud storage servers. Performance and Ultimate-tier subscribers will get 100GB of storage for free, and they can upgrade to 200GB for $2.99 monthly, 500GB for $4.99 per month and 1TB for $7.99. Typically, GeForce NOW games are preinstalled on servers and wait for players to queue them up. (It's also worth noting that the service taps into games you've already bought on existing storefronts like Steam, your subscription doesn't get you a collection of games to play like Xbox cloud streaming.) NVIDIA says that GeForce Now will have up 2,300 pre-installed games this year, and together with Install-to-Play options there will be over 4,500 games on the service. That goes a long way towards making GeForce Now more appealing to mainstream players -- if you could play most new titles over the cloud for a monthly fee, why have a gaming PC at all? To that end, NVIDIA is also making GeForce NOW work even better across a wide variety of devices. It'll support up to 90fps on the Steam Deck through its native app, and it will also stream in 5K on newer LG OLED monitors. LG TVs will also get a native GeForce NOW app that supports up to 4K 120Hz streams, a first for any TV maker. NVIDIA also says that many Logitech racing wheels will be supported, as well. (Though I wonder how many people are traveling with wheels when they want to game on the go.) While its unclear if game streaming will ever replace local gaming, GeForce NOW is certainly getting close with the addition of RTX 5080 GPUs and a wealth of new features. And given the rise of streaming TV service costs these days, its pricing seems relatively fair. You can test out a free ad-supported version of GeForce NOW, or pay $10 a month (or $100 a year) for ad-free 1,440p support. For most people, especially if they're just streaming to laptops and handhelds, that'll be more than enough. But the Ultimate tier isn't unreasonable at $20 a month, $100 for six months or $200 annually. That's a small price to pay to game in 4K (and 5K!) without a huge rig. During my recent testing of GeForce NOW Ultimate with RTX 4080 servers, I noticed that it's relatively easy to launch games, performance is generally smooth and it works well across handhelds, TVs and multiple computers. I'd expect much of the same for the RTX 5080 servers, but I'll report back next month when they actually launch.

GeForce NOW Brings RTX 5080 Power to the Ultimate Membership

Get a glimpse into the future of gaming. The NVIDIA Blackwell RTX architecture is coming to GeForce NOW in September, marking the service's biggest upgrade yet. Turn any device into a powerhouse gaming rig with GeForce RTX 5080-class performance, next-generation AI features and a major leap forward in stunning cinematic visuals -- all without raising membership prices. With the upgrade to the Blackwell RTX architecture, all Premium members will get access to a new feature called Install-to-Play, which expands the GeForce NOW cloud game catalog to nearly 4,500 titles. And be on the lookout for an upcoming lineup of this year's hottest new titles, optimized to take full advantage of the GeForce RTX 5080-gaming rig in the cloud. The list includes ARC Raiders, Borderlands 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Cinder City, Dying Light: The Beast, Hell Is Us, The Outer Worlds 2, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 and more. Members will be able to play these blockbuster titles in the cloud when they launch, streaming instantly from their device of choice. NVIDIA will also be launching GeForce NOW in India this November. It follows Thailand as the latest region to gain access to GeForce NOW through GFNA partner Brothers Picture -- enabling even more gamers around the world to experience the future of cloud gaming at the same great membership prices. Be among the first to tap into GeForce RTX 5080 power from the cloud by upgrading to an Ultimate membership today. Server space will be limited, so be sure to lock it in today. There's even more fun to come -- check out the list of 13 new games joining the GeForce NOW library this week. Paint It Blackwell With the NVIDIA Blackwell RTX architecture, GeForce NOW is beaming GeForce RTX 5080-class power from the cloud straight to nearly any device. GeForce RTX 5080-class GPUs bring a staggering 62 teraflops of compute performance, a 48GB frame buffer, more than 3x the performance of current consoles and 2.8x faster frame rates than previous-generation servers. Advanced ray tracing, richer textures and AI-enhanced rendering with AMD "Zen 5" CPUs and NVIDIA ConnectX-7 networking deliver an experience that's more responsive than ever. It isn't just raw speed either. NVIDIA Blackwell RTX unlocks: * The highest resolutions and frame rates in the cloud: NVIDIA DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation unlocks up to 5K streaming at 120 frames per second (fps) -- performance once reserved for the most elite PCs. NVIDIA Reflex technology levels up the cloud for competitive gaming, delivering streams up to 360 fps at 1080p and network latency under 30 milliseconds. * Vastly improved visual fidelity: A new Cinematic Quality Streaming mode delivers richer colors, sharper text and crystal-clear scenes with 4:4:4 chroma sampling, AI sharpening and advanced AV1 encoding -- even when network conditions change. * GeForce NOW support on more devices: Premium members will be able to stream at 90 fps on Steam Decks and 4k 120 fps on the Lenovo Legion Go S handheld. Supported LG monitors can stream at up to 5K 120Hz and supported LG TVs at 4K 120Hz -- no extra hardware required. Mac users get the full NVIDIA Blackwell RTX upgrade, and there's expanded support for peripherals like Logitech racing wheels. Plus, collaborations with Comcast, Deutsche Telekom AG and others bring enhanced broadband and 5G performance. Ultimate memberships remain at $19.99 a month and Performance memberships at $9.99 a month. With the launch of NVIDIA Blackwell RTX on GeForce NOW, upgraded Ultimate memberships will debut with an unchanged $19.99 a month or $199.99 for 12-month plans. Double the Games, Double the Fun The biggest expansion yet for the GeForce NOW game library arrives with the launch of Install-to-Play. This new feature harnesses high-performance cloud storage, powered by NVIDIA NVMesh technology, to allow game installations directly in the cloud. Members will be able to bring even more of their PC collections to the cloud to play instantly, mirroring the experience of a local PC. Install-to-Play instantly doubles the supported games on GeForce NOW with more than 2,200 Steam titles already opted in for cloud streaming, rocketing the total GeForce NOW library size to over 4,500 accessible games, with more to come. Ultimate and Performance members will have 100GB of single-session storage included, with flexible add-ons for persistent storage -- 200GB for $2.99 per month, 500GB for $4.99 per month and 1TB for $7.99 per month. Once a game is installed on persistent storage, it remains instantly ready for members to play. The Ultimate Party The upgrade to NVIDIA Blackwell RTX in the cloud arrives just in time for some of the year's top-tier game launches. These highly anticipated titles will be among the first to take full advantage of the upgraded platform's powerful performance -- letting members experience cutting-edge gameplay, ultrahigh resolutions and instant day-one access in the cloud. Gear up for all out mayhem in Borderlands 4. Unleash chaos across the galaxy with outrageous weapons, irreverent humor and the signature co-op action that makes this iconic looter-shooter franchise a fan favorite. Get ready for a unique blend of open-world and action-survival horror when Dying Light: The Beast launches in the cloud on Friday, Sept. 19. Play as Kyle Crane, a hero with the DNA of both man and beast. After escaping brutal experiments, players will feel the thirst for revenge -- but soon learn there's more at stake in the unforgiving wilds of Castor Woods. Get ready to explore strange new colonies in The Outer Worlds 2. This highly anticipated sequel brings fresh characters, wild alien planets and Obsidian's trademark wit -- promising even bigger adventures and choices that shape the game's story. Action fans can look forward to heart-pounding, squad-based battles in Arc Raiders. This dynamic co-op shooter drops players into a war for survival against overwhelming mechanized threats, blending teamwork and tactical action in a richly detailed multiplayer world. For a dark, atmospheric role-playing game, look no further than Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, which will bring players back to Seattle's supernatural underworld. Navigate dangerous alliances, political intrigue and vampire factions to carve a unique path through the city's shadowy streets. For those in search of mystery and action, look no further than Hell Is Us. Set in a land torn by conflict and haunted by otherworldly forces, this unique adventure blends fast-paced melee combat and a striking, atmospheric world, challenging gamers to discover what's real amid human and supernatural threats. And the action of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will bring the franchise's intensity to GeForce NOW. Dive into a high-stakes co-op campaign packed with action, a signature multiplayer experience and the next twisted chapter of Round-Based Zombies. In CINDER CITY, a tactical shooter developed in-house by Bigfire Games under NCSOFT, suit up as a futuristic knight and battle through post-apocalyptic Seoul. Players must face brutal choices as they search for their missing daughter -- solo or with a squad. A Special Squad-Up NVIDIA, Discord and Epic are teaming up to change how games are discovered and played together, making it easier than ever to stay connected to friends through gaming. Powered by GeForce NOW streaming, this new integrated experience -- demoed behind closed doors at Gamescom -- will let players discover and try new games with friends directly on Discord. They can do so with no downloads or installs, and even without owning the game or a GeForce NOW membership. It's fueled by a limited-time trial of the GeForce NOW Performance experience for streaming at up 1440p 60 fps -- all without needing to leave Discord. The first game to take advantage of the integrated experience is Fortnite. Connecting an Epic account is all it takes to join the action. For Discord's hundreds of millions of users, it's a faster, simpler way to discover games and play together where gaming conversations are already happening. Legendary New Games Command grand armies and shape history in Creative Assembly's acclaimed Total War series, including: * Total War: MEDIEVAL II - Definitive Edition * Total War: ATTILA * A Total War Saga: Troy * Total War: NAPOLEON - Definitive Edition * Total War: EMPIRE - Definitive Edition Rally knights in MEDIEVAL II, defy empires in ATTILA, lead legendary heroes in Troy, outmaneuver rivals in NAPOLEON and forge global dominance in EMPIRE. Epic strategy, monumental battles and world-shaking decisions await as the fate of civilizations is in players' hands. Gamers can rewrite history -- or be swept aside by it. Catch the full list of games coming to the cloud this week on GeForce NOW: * Stick It to the Stickman (New release on Steam, Aug. 18) * Blacksmith Master (New release on Xbox, available on PC Game Pass, Aug. 19) * VOID/BREAKER (New release on Steam and Xbox available on PC Game Pass, Aug. 19) * The Rogue Prince of Persia (New release on Ubisoft, Aug. 20) * Funko Fusion (Steam) * Total War: MEDIEVAL II - Definitive Edition (Steam) * Total War: ATTILA (Steam) * A Total War Saga: Troy (Steam) * Total War: NAPOLEON - Definitive Edition (Steam) * Total War: EMPIRE - Definitive Edition (Steam) * Total War: PHARAOH DYNASTIES (Steam) * Total War: ROME REMASTERED (Steam) * Total War: SHOGUN 2 (Steam) Which Gamescom announcement has you most excited this week? Let us know on X or in the comments below. See notice regarding software product information.

Nvidia's GeForce Now adds killer upgrades: RTX 5080, DIY game installs

Nvidia improves virtually all aspects of its GeForce Now gaming service, from the server to storage to the visual presentation. Nvidia's GeForce Now service is offering its Ultimate tier subscribers an enormous upgrade today: GeForce RTX 5080 servers, cinematic visual upgrades, and a new "install to play" service that will "download" new games directly to the cloud, making them instantly ready to play. Nvidia is leaving the price of the GeForce Now Ultimate tier unchanged at $19.99 per month, and $99.99 for six months, Nvidia said at the Gamescom show. Nvidia is also adding an annual GeForce Now Ultimate subscription for $199.99. A GeForce Now Ultimate daily membership will be available at launch, Nvidia said, presumably for the current price of $7.99. Session lengths will remain at eight hours for Ultimate subscribers. The point of Nvidia's GeForce Now service has always been to deliver a cloud gaming experience that's as close as possible to what a gamer would experience on a PC. The price of graphics cards, of course, has climbed to astronomical heights, making GeForce Now a way of partially offsetting the hundreds of dollars a gamer would need to shell out for the latest RTX 4000 or 5000 series cards. Of course, playing a game in the cloud has traditionally meant forcing certain restrictions upon the subscriber: a limited resolution and image quality to minimize the amount of data sent back and forth over a broadband connection, and some level of latency or delay between a user's input and a corresponding response from the game running on the server. Nvidia's GeForce Now upgrades attack all of those angles to improve the experience. Naturally, the most high-profile upgrade is the jump from the current RTX 4080 servers to the new RTX 5080 servers powered by Nvidia's "Blackwell" architecture. Those come with all the bells and whistles you might expect from an RTX 5080 card, including DLSS 4 multi-frame generation that enables 5K resolution at 120 fps, and Nvidia Reflex technology with support for 360 fps at 1080p resolutions. Nvidia's saying that if you're in a GeForce Now-supported region, the "majority" of gamers will experience sub-30-millisecond latency. There's a catch, however. Nvidia isn't saying that all of its games will be playable on its Nvidia 5080 "Blackwell" servers, just that "you'll be able to play select games with RTX 5080 performance." Additional 5080-supported games will roll out weekly, Nvidia said. Nvidia isn't saying exactly which CPUs will be used to power its new GeForce Now servers, but did say that they'll be driven by AMD's "Zen 5 CPUs" and Nvidia's own ConnectX-7 SmartNICs. Currently, the Ultimate tier offers 16 virtual CPUs, and presumably that will remain the same. All told, there are 62 teraflops of gaming performance and 48GB of frame buffer available, with up to 100Mbps of data streamed down to your PC. That will boost performance on the Steam Deck from 60 to 90 fps, Nvidia said, and to 120 fps on the Lenovo Legion Go S. LG TVs will be able to game at 5120×2880 when connected to Windows or a macOS device -- yes, macOS. The GeForce Now client on macOS will receive the same upgrades as the Windows app, finally turning Cupertino's hardware into a gaming machine. Nvidia is also thinking about how games will actually look on your screen, too. If you game on a laptop, Nvidia will auto-detect what resolution it can game at, and will deliver you the best visual quality it thinks you can stand. GeForce Now will use YUV color with 4:4:4 chroma sampling to make games look great, tapping into AI where necessary to smooth graphical overlays. One of the most exciting upgrades, however, is a not-so-obvious one: install-to-play. The legacy GeForce Now service required you to own a game, then "load" it onto one of Nvidia's cloud servers. After you finished playing, however, those server resources would be reassigned to other users, instead of maintaining a persistent server dedicated to your gameplay alone. That meant a small delay while your game once again "loaded" onto a GeForce Now server. Now, that's changed. Nvidia is assigning 100GB of dedicated cloud storage to each GeForce Now Ultimate subscriber, meaning that one or a few games will always be instantly available to play, including saved data. You'll also be able to buy additional storage for 200GB for $2.99 per month, 500GB for $4.99 per month, and 1TB for $7.99 per month. Users who subscribe to the cheaper performance tier will also receive the install-to-play storage options, too. All told, the upgrade adds about 2,200 install-to-play games to the existing GeForce Now streaming library, for a total of about 4,500 or slightly more. They will include games like Obsidian's The Outer Worlds 2, the Paradox sequel Vampire: The Masquerade -- Bloodlines 2, or Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 from Activision. Finally, Nvidia is offering more click-to-play options to try out GeForce Now. For example, if your buddy wants you to drop in and play Fortnite, they'll be able to drop a "link" right in Discord. As long as you have an Epic gamertag set up, you'll be able to jump right in -- even if you're on your ancient office desktop without a GPU installed. Nvidia also said that it's "lightening" its Project G-Assist AI app, allowing it to be played on all RTX-equipped PCs with more than 6GB of VRAM.

Nvidia GeForce Now with RTX 5080 is a console killer -- I played 5K at 120 FPS and it blew my mind

Nvidia GeForce Now was already the best cloud gaming service you can get -- it won a Tom's Guide Award this year, after all. But with its next-gen RTX 5080 upgrades, I think we're looking at the ultimate console killer of a service. I mean, think about it. What is needed for cloud gaming to take on the likes of the PS5 Pro, Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox Series X/S? In one fell swoop, Nvidia has tackled all of these with huge updates to its server-side technology, optimizing the way it delivers cloud gameplay to your device, and adding quality-of-life features. And the company did all of this while keeping the price of GeForce Now Ultimate exactly the same. The company reps here at Gamescom 2025 might be modest in what they say, so I'll say it instead -- this has a very real chance to upend the entire idea of a games console. September will be a breakthrough moment for cloud gaming. To explain this, I need to get geeky here. Nvidia GeForce Now runs off what the company calls SuperPODs. There's a network of them across the globe, and in Europe specifically, Nvidia did say that you are no further than 200 kilometers away from one. The secret sauce to this generational shift is the upgrades made to them. There's a server-grade RTX 5080 in each one, double the RAM, a new AMD CPU (the company won't say which one, but the specs sound suspiciously identical to the Ryzen 7 9800X3D in my test bench), and a ConnectX 7 interface. In theory, this ups the performance, increases the bandwidth of transmitting gameplay, and makes the way gameplay is streamed more efficient. And in practice, Nvidia can pull off some stunning results on an up to 125 Mbps connection (just want to emphasize the internet speed I tested with clearly). Indiana Jones and The Great Circle looks spectacular at 5K 120 FPS -- so crispy with detail and depth. Black Myth: Wukong is a night and day difference with Nvidia's "Cinematic-Quality Streaming" (CQS: basically 10-bit color and HDR). And when compared to the outgoing version of GeForce Now, CQS delivers a remarkable difference. Whether it's directly through GeForce Now on the best mini PC, on an LG TV via the app or on a SteamOS gaming handheld (more on that later), the gaming experience looks jaw-dropping and feels immediate with your gameplay inputs. There are internet connectivity technologies that Nvidia is taking advantage of here (provided your provider supports them). Low Latency, Low Loss, and Scalable Throughput (L4S) is basically the broadband equivalent of paying for priority delivery on Uber Eats -- it marks the packages of data that require super low latency, like gameplay, as a high priority. Then there's DOCSIS, which Comcast is using in the U.S. to enhance GeForce Now, too. Combine these with Nvidia Reflex, and you've got gameplay that feels snappier than the console you probably have in your TV stand. Just be sure to upgrade to the best wi-fi router to take advantage of these. I got to demo this in two ways. First, with Cyberpunk 2077 running on a PS5 Pro (with an LG OLED TV) and that same LG TV running GeForce Now. The first thing you notice is that fidelity difference -- Night City is so rich with tiny details to every texture on GeForce Now, and DLSS 4 continues to be an industry leader in AI upscaling. Throw in multi-frame gen, and you're getting a rock-solid 120 FPS, whereas the PS5 Pro is rigidly stuck to 30. Then I got to doing snap controller inputs to put that latency to the test, and every input is so much more immediate on GeForce Now than it is on the PS5. I know some of this will be because of that higher frame rate, but any fears of multi-frame gen causing additional latency on top of any network-based delay were quickly extinguished. And second, the esports test. Now, for competitive PC gaming, it's all about turning down the resolution and textures to extract as high a frame rate and lowest latency as possible. GeForce Now can do 1080p at 360 FPS, and we had latency testing hardware literally attached to the screen -- timing from a button press to the flash of a gun firing. 10-20ms is good click-to-photon latency, and while Nvidia touts 30ms in its press materials, I was seeing speeds of 17ms...on a damn cloud gaming service. That's basically witchcraft! GeForce Now has become my primary way to game on Steam Deck -- primarily because it's given me my battery life back. But one small gripe I have is the lack of optimization of the picture for docking into a 4K TV. The aspect ratio didn't scale correctly. Now, beyond upping the frame rate to 90 FPS on Steam Deck OLED, you can stick it in a dock and get 4K 120 FPS gaming. This is one critical fix that is making my desire for a Nintendo Switch 2 a very distant memory. As you can see, I've addressed three of the five points that would make a cloud gaming service a console killer. Now to the other two. First of all, you're no longer limited to games that have been pre-installed on Nvidia's service, as "install-to-play" allows you to (as the name suggests) install your own games to GeForce Now. This is done by buying additional cloud storage (up to 1TB), and provided the game has been opted into Valve's Steam Cloud Play, it will immediately be available to install. Once September rolls around, over 2,200 more games will be available to play, and those GFN Thursday updates are about to get much longer lists. And second, there is now Logitech sim wheel support for racing games. This is an important first step towards allowing for more specialized gameplay inputs, and I'm currently setting up a prayer circle for light gun support further down the line! Oh, and a special shout-out to the partnership between Nvidia and Discord/Epic Games, which allows you to jump straight into a Fortnite match within Discord -- no GeForce Now account required, and you can get 1440p 60 FPS gameplay. It's a tasty demo of what you can get with the full service! Look, I know I'm being a little dramatic with that headline. Game consoles will always have a special place in the hearts of billions for their exclusives, and the hardware is a much more direct and easy-to-use portal to your games. But with Nvidia GeForce Now's big generational upgrade, we are basically at a point where this could be a legitimate better option than buying a PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo system. With RTX 5080 performance under the hood, ground-up optimization of the average internet connection bandwidth to deliver insanely high fidelity performance with unnoticeable latency, and genuinely useful additions like the beginning of peripheral support, cloud gaming is no longer a "plan B" -- it's a viable primary way to play.

Nvidia GeForce Now just leveled up -- RTX 5080 performance for 5K 120 FPS gaming and lower latency than a PS5 Pro

Nvidia has announced a major update coming to its GeForce Now cloud-based gaming platform, now arriving with its latest Blackwell architecture -- delivering RTX 5080 performance. Rolling out this September, the Nvidia GeForce Now upgrade will see a host of new upgrades, including RTX 5080 GPU-class streaming to the cloud, streaming up to 5K resolution at 120 frames per second with the help of DLSS 4 and new Cinematic Quality Streaming (CQS) mode for a huge boost in graphical fidelity. If that wasn't enough, GeForce Now will also support more devices, including Logitech racing wheels, LG monitors, and TVs, which will be the first to support the upgrades with 4K at 120Hz. Additionally, the Steam Deck's native GeForce Now app will receive a performance boost, increasing from 60 FPS to 90 FPS. Plus, Apple's Mac lineup will also be getting the latest updates via the GeForce Now Mac client. This is the biggest update Nvidia's cloud gaming platform has seen in years, and it's an exciting one at that. With the GeForce Now library set to double in size with the update, boasting over 4,500 games with Install-to-Play (more on this later), it's a big win for GeForce Now subscribers. And the best part? Prices are remaining the same. Let's dive into all the updates. With the upgrade bringing RTX 5080 GPU-class performance to the GeForce Now Ultimate tier, along with Nvidia's AI features like Multi-Frame Generation and Nvidia Reflex, we can expect a major boost in visuals and frame rates over the current RTX 4080 that currently powers the Ultimate subscription. It means streaming the latest PC titles with 5K resolution at 120 FPS, and even 1080p at 360 FPS with response times down to 30 milliseconds, according to Nvidia. Moreover, gamers should expect "sub-30-millisecond network latency." As Team Green notes, the might of the latest Blackwell architecture in the RTX 5080 will deliver 2.8x faster frame rates over previous GPUs, and outdoes the PS5 Pro by 3x. In fact, compared to the 49ms streaming on Sony's console, Nvidia will deliver 30ms for low-latency streaming in its 360Hz mode. That's wicked fast! Nvidia is also adding CQS mode to its cloud gaming platform, which aims to offer 5 key features: We'll see how this new Cinematic Quality Streaming mode looks in the latest games arriving, and speaking of... GeForce Now will launch with upcoming AAA titles set to arrive on the platform, including Borderlands 4, Hell Is Us, Dying Light: The Beast, The Outer Worlds 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. But it will also have even more titles thanks to Install-to-Play. This allows gamers to stream Steam titles that support GeForce Now, with over 2,200 additional games that will be ready to play. That brings the library to a total of 4,500 titles overall! With Install-to-Play, members can download games directly to cloud storage and launch the games instantly on various devices, powered by NVMesh storage. Both Ultimate and Performance members will get 100GB of single-session cloud storage to do this, but this can be expanded to 200GB for $2.99 per month, 500GB for $4.99 per month, and 1TB for $7.99 per month. Being able to whip up a classic through GeForce Now anywhere? Now that's a key benefit. More titles are expected to be added down the line, too. Another major update Nvidia brings to the table is all to do with GeForce Now's supported accessories, which will now include Logitech racing wheels, which match perfectly with games like Forza Horizon 5. And for Steam Deck owners, GeForce Now will now deliver up to 90 FPS via the native GeForce Now app compared to the current 60 FPS, thanks to the RTX 5080-powered servers. That breathes even more life into one of the best gaming handhelds around, but you'll also see 120 FPS on the Lenovo Legion Go S with SteamOS. LG monitors and TVs are also getting the upgraded cloud gaming treatment (with more to come), with LG OLED monitors being able to stream in 5K (5120 x 2880) when connected to Windows or macOS devices. And yes, that means GeForce Now on Mac will see the might of an RTX 5080 via the cloud. As for supported LG TVs, users can expect 4K at 120Hz, and that's with HDR. "Bringing the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture, one of the world's most important computer graphics innovations, to GeForce Now represents the biggest leap in cloud gaming ever," said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Huang continues: "With Blackwell, GeForce Now offers even more stunning graphics, the fastest frame rates and negligible latency to turn any device into a high-quality gaming rig that rivals nearly every other product on the market today." Considering this Nvidia GeForce Now upgrade comes without any additional fees is a major bonus for current subscribers, and brings cloud gaming even closer to modern, localized gaming (if your internet connection is strong, that is). For GeForce Now Ultimate subscribers (which includes RTX 5080 performance), prices are set at $19.99 per month or $99.99 for six months. As for Performance memberships, prices start at $9.99 per month or $49.99 for six months. As for annual subscriptions, expect these to come in at $199.99 and $99.99, respectively. I'm excited to see the upgrades Nvidia's GeForce Now update delivers, and we're sure to get a taste when we head to the floor of Gamescom 2025, so stay tuned for more.

NVIDIA Blackwell Architecture Comes to GeForce NOW

Gamescom -- NVIDIA today announced that the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture is coming to GeForce NOW™, marking the cloud gaming platform's biggest update yet. The upgrade brings NVIDIA GeForce RTX™ 5080-class performance, AI enhancements and cloud storage to set new standards for cloud gaming. With thousands of more games on the way, the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture will deliver cutting-edge graphics and the fastest frame rates in the cloud without raising membership prices. "Bringing the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture, one of the world's most important computer graphics innovations, to GeForce NOW represents the biggest leap in cloud gaming ever," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. "With Blackwell, GeForce NOW offers even more stunning graphics, the fastest frame rates and negligible latency to turn any device into a high-quality gaming rig that rivals nearly every other product on the market today." Members will gain advanced features like NVIDIA DLSS 4 Multi-Frame Generation, pushing streaming up to 5K resolution at 120 frames per second (fps) -- previously only possible with the most advanced gaming PCs. The upgrade adds support for up to 360 fps at 1080p with NVIDIA Reflex technology and click-to-pixel response times as low as 30 milliseconds. Tapping a global network of NVIDIA SuperPODs, the majority of gamers in GeForce NOW-supported regions will see sub-30-millisecond network latency. In addition, a new Cinematic-Quality Streaming (CQS) mode uses a host of technological advancements to significantly improve image quality. Borderlands 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and The Outer Worlds 2 are among the new AAA games that will join GeForce NOW, now totaling more than 2,300 games. That number will double instantly with the launch of Install-to-Play, a feature that brings more of gamers' PC collections to the cloud with new cloud storage. The Ultimate Upgrade The NVIDIA Blackwell architecture features enhanced ray tracing and AI-powered rendering, enabling more realistic lighting, richer textures and faster computation to run real-time graphics for even the most demanding games. With the introduction of GeForce RTX 5080-class GPUs, the GeForce NOW Ultimate membership tier will deliver a stunning 62 teraflops of compute performance and a massive 48GB frame buffer, which enables AI-enhanced gaming experiences and prepares the platform for the future of AI in gaming. The latest GPU architecture offers up to 2.8x faster frame rates compared with previous-generation servers and outpaces the PlayStation 5 Pro by more than 3x. Enhanced by the latest AMD "Zen 5" CPUs and NVIDIA ConnectX-7 SmartNICs, GeForce NOW features the most advanced hardware in cloud gaming. Plus, NVIDIA's broadband connectivity and mobile partner network continues to grow, with new collaborations with Comcast, Deutsche Telekom AG and more. Comcast is enhancing low-latency GeForce NOW cloud gaming through the DOCSIS telecommunications standard, Deutsche Telekom AG is integrating GeForce NOW into its 5G+ network and BT Group plans to trial L4S and 5G slicing to deliver consistent, high-quality 5G performance -- whether at home or on the go. Cinematic-Quality Streaming Members will experience a noticeable leap in graphics fidelity with CQS for the highest-quality visual experiences in the cloud. CQS features a suite of technologies powered by the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture, delivering: Games Multiplier Publishers are bringing the biggest blockbusters and acclaimed indie hits to GeForce NOW, expanding its cloud library of preinstalled, ready-to-play games to over 2,300 titles. A host of AAA games will be available to play in the cloud at launch. Upcoming releases include Hell Is Us, a mystery adventure from Nacon, followed by 2K's and Gearbox Software's Borderlands 4 and Techland's Dying Light: The Beast. "NVIDIA's Blackwell-powered GeForce NOW upgrade is a game-changer for Gearbox that significantly elevates the gameplay experiences for our players," said Brian Burleson, vice president of strategic partnerships at Gearbox Entertainment. "GeForce NOW brings the games and universes within them to almost any screen imaginable so that every last detail we've worked so hard on is visible. We're proud to be part of this next era of cloud gaming." "Castor Woods in Dying Light: The Beast is the most beautiful world we ever created, with huge improvements to dynamic lighting, physics and graphics," said Tymon Smektała, Dying Light franchise director at Techland. "With GeForce NOW's Blackwell architecture, these improvements will be available to more players than ever, even those without high-end PCs at home." Gamers can also look forward to the return of the beloved sci-fi role-playing game The Outer Worlds 2 from Obsidian Entertainment; the sci-fi action of Embark Studio's Arc Raiders; as well as the highly anticipated Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 from Paradox Interactive and White Wolf. The heart-pounding Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 from Activision is also joining the cloud at launch, as well as a new sci-fi third-person shooter from BigFire Games and NCSoft called CINDER CITY. "We're focused on giving players more choice in how and where they play, and NVIDIA's Blackwell-powered GeForce NOW upgrade helps us do that," said Craig Duncan, head of Xbox Game Studios. "With enhanced performance and visual fidelity, it's now easier for players to jump into their favorite worlds, connect with friends and discover new adventures." Also new with the GeForce NOW upgrade, Install-to-Play games are made possible by cutting-edge cloud storage servers using high-performance NVIDIA NVMesh technology. Members will gain access to double the game catalog, streaming more than 2,200 additional Steam titles that publishers have enabled for cloud streaming on GeForce NOW, with more to come. This means GeForce NOW's library will expand to over 4,500 Ready-to-Play and Install-to-Play titles. "Seeing so many AAA and indie games arriving on GeForce NOW is a great win for studios and gamers alike," said Larry Kuperman, vice president of business development at Nightdive Studios. "Expanding the GeForce NOW library with thousands of additional Steam titles means more gamers than ever can experience our worlds -- seamlessly and instantly, on nearly any device -- for a true PC experience in the cloud." Install-to-Play games are downloaded directly to cloud storage, mirroring the experience of having them on a local PC. GeForce NOW Ultimate and Performance members will receive 100GB of single-session cloud storage for Install-to-Play games at no additional cost to their membership. Members will also be able to expand their cloud storage with persistent storage add-ons: 200GB for $2.99 per month, 500GB for $4.99 per month and 1TB for $7.99 per month. Install-to-Play games saved in persistent storage will remain ready to launch without the need to download and reinstall for every session. More Frames on More Devices Launched earlier this year, GeForce RTX 5080-powered servers are giving the native GeForce NOW app on Steam Deck a performance boost from 60 to 90 fps. LG monitors and TVs are among the first to benefit from GeForce NOW RTX 5080 server upgrades. Supported LG OLED monitors can also stream in ultra-high 5K (5120×2880) when connected to Windows or macOS devices -- no extra hardware needed. LG TVs are also leading the way as the world's first to stream 4K at 120Hz with HDR through a native app on supported LG TVs. Support for popular peripherals also grows, with native support for many Logitech racing wheels offering the lowest-latency, most responsive driving experiences. In addition, the GeForce NOW Mac client will receive all the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture upgrades, turning Apple computers into high-performance gaming machines. More Easily Connect With Gamers NVIDIA, Discord and Epic are partnering to transform how people discover and play games together -- making it easier than ever for gamers to stay connected. Powered by NVIDIA GeForce NOW's game streaming technology and distributed through Discord, the new integrated experience lets players try new games instantly on Discord -- no downloads, installs or launchers -- without missing a beat of gameplay. This new integrated experience will let gamers try Fortnite directly in Discord, if they do not have the game installed, through a limited-time trial of the GeForce NOW Performance experience -- even without a GeForce NOW membership. Players only need to create or connect their Epic accounts before instantly dropping into Fortnite. The integration makes it easier for Discord's hundreds of millions of users to discover streamed game experiences, such as Fortnite sessions, helping game developers expand their reach where conversations about games are already happening. Pricing, Availability and Promotions The GeForce NOW upgrade featuring the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture will begin rolling out in September. GeForce NOW Ultimate remains available for $19.99 per month or $99.99 for six months, and includes access to RTX 5080 servers. Performance memberships remain available at $9.99 per month or $49.99 for six months. Daily, monthly and annual membership will be available starting at launch. Annual memberships will be available for $199.99 and $99.99, respectively. To reserve a spot to be among the first to access RTX 5080-class servers on GeForce NOW, sign up for an Ultimate membership.

Nvidia's PS5 Pro GeForce Now gamescom comparison demo is one of the most audacious I've seen in years

Games events are always packed with a shed load of marketing bluster. Companies figure out the most impressive way to showcase their wares and then, well, deploy that. Some of that is more strait-laced; other times the truth is stretched. With all that in mind as Gamescom 2025 gets underway in earnest, I have to give credit to Nvidia. The PC hardware monolith, currently enjoying a massively buoyant period thanks to the AI boom that's seeing data centers plead with it for more GPU architecture, nevertheless remains quite focused on gaming. In a pre-Gamescom event, the company showed off what I can only describe as the single most audacious demo of a gaming technology I have ever seen. The setup was as follows: Nvidia had placed two identical TVs next to each other. Both state-of-the-art LG C5 OLEDs, both clearly configured properly to give the best possible image in the demo room. Both displayed a live running copy of Cyberpunk 2077, idling away in Night City's Afterlife bar. But there was one difference between the two images: one TV was running a locally downloaded copy of the game on a PlayStation 5 Pro. The use of a Pro is more than a little cheeky, because it should be noted that this isn't a game with specific Pro enhancements. Still, it's a high-end game on PS5 - and this was then compared to the adjacent screen. The other TV was running the same area of Cyberpunk 2077 in the cloud via GeForce Now - and without any additional hardware, as Nvidia's game streaming service can be played via an app in the latest LG TVs, as well as on sets from other manufacturers now and coming soon. Eurogamer has written about GeForce Now before, and honestly not much about the service has changed with Nvidia's Gamescom reveals. It's just gotten a little bit better. That means everything I wrote last month about enjoying using the service on Steam Deck stands, obviously. But nevertheless, that demo struck me. You don't see many direct comparisons in games. Publishers, developers, hardware manufacturers - all tend to shy away from it. Who can blame them, really, when us players can often get lost in the weeds with obsession over black-and-white comparison. Forums and comment threads will deep-dive into preview-to-release 'downgrades', the advantages of one port versus the deficiencies of another, and so on. But here, as I say, was Nvidia, with audacity, putting these two things side-by-side and inviting all to compare and contrast. They wouldn't be making the comparison if it wasn't favorable, obviously. Which is to say: yes, that streamed version of Cyberpunk definitely looked equivalent to and in places better than the locally installed PS5 version. Though a bustling demo room isn't necessarily the best place to make truly in-depth comparisons, the equivalence and difference was plain to see. In that, the demo is an equally loud proclamation of what those who have dabbled in GeForce Now before likely already know: in this form, game streaming has truly arrived. Nvidia's Gamescom was centered around the service, plus announcements of a slew of upcoming games that'll be supporting the company's various game-enhancing bells and whistles. For one, it was confirmed that in September the GeForce Now service will be upgraded so that those with the top-tier subscription will see graphical performance equivalent with a GeForce RTX 5080, a £1000 graphics card. There's no price increase attached to that - existing subscribers will just notice they can push their streamed games a good deal harder settings-wise. The other big headline-grabber was the ability to individually install games. Currently, GeForce Now operates with a list of 2000-some games that have been carefully curated and tested by Nvidia for compatibility. That game list is pre-installed on the GFN server machines, which means each game launches instantly when you boot it. Games will continue to be added to this list - but Nvidia has now announced 'Install to Play', where you can choose to stream other games outside of that carefully crafted and compatibility stress-tested list. You'll have to manually install them onto the remote GFN machines, and there are caveats - it's limited to a list of 2200 additional games, and you can only install up to 100GB of stuff without paying for additional storage - but this has effectively doubled the number of GFN-compatible games. Meanwhile, newer titles like The Outer Worlds 2 and Borderlands 4 will continue to go straight into the properly curated game list. Third, and in my opinion most important, shipping alongside these updates are tweaks and upgrades to improve latency and image quality. This was also demonstrated with a side-by-side comparison, this one of Black Myth Wukong running in the same context as it would on GFN currently versus what it'll soon look like with the new tech. The funny thing is that the current version isn't bad, but in that classic march-of-technology way once you've seen the new version, with better colour precision, sharper detail, and less HUD and UI weirdness, it'll be hard to go back. I keep coming back to that demo, though. The almost arrogant side-by-side, which is by its very nature a gauntlet tossed at the feet of consoles. This is not something a company sets up unless it is confident in its technology to the extreme. It is clear that GeForce Now is no longer just a novel experiment - it is truly viable. In fact, the room was full of balls-to-the-wall demos, from a commitment to supporting twitchy racing games with steering wheel support to being willing to publicly demonstrate GFN's latency by using an LDAT (at super high-end latency-testing device used by monitor manufacturers and the like) to showcase its rapid response time. With that said, it still doesn't feel like Nvidia is pitching GeForce Now as the primary place anyone should play games. The fact you need to piggyback on a game library from another service has always set this apart from experiments like Stadia or Microsoft's XCloud efforts, which felt intended to supplant dedicated hardware entirely. GeForce Now feels like a complimentary addition, not a replacement - but the argument here is more plain than ever: even if it were a replacement, the technology is progressing at such speed that it really can compete. I'm still not convinced that streaming is yet ready to be the 'future' it was frequently touted as during the game streaming gold rush of 2018/19. But whatever the make-up of the future is, I'm increasingly convinced that GeForce Now, and services like it, will be an indelible part of it. Demos like this only serve to solidify that opinion.

Nvidia announces the 'biggest launch in GeForce Now RTX history': RTX 5080 performance, local-style installs, better game streaming quality, and more

The company is aiming to make GeForce Now streaming match local gaming. Nvidia has just announced what it's calling the "biggest launch in GeForce Now RTX history". The main upgrade for this is that on the Ultimate subscription you'll be able to get Blackwell hardware RTX 5080-level performance. The eagle-eyed and bat-eared among you might have already heard about Nvidia testing Blackwell hardware on some GeForce Now servers, but that wasn't with an RTX 5080-level GPU. Regardless, it's all official now: High-end RTX 50-series performance with 3x the TFLOPS of the PS5 Pro will be available on Nvidia's game streaming service. It will only be available for some games to begin with, but Nvidia says "additional RTX 5080-enabled games will roll out weekly." The second-biggest piece of news here is that this upgrade will come at no extra cost. GeForce Now Ultimate is remaining at its current price of $19.99 / £19.99 per month (or a little cheaper if you buy those months in bulk). This is definitely welcome news, especially given the recent 100-hour limit to game time might have made one assume Nvidia would be trying to maximise money. There is a money-making extra that has been announced, though. This comes off the back of a new feature that's also been announced, called Install-to-Play, which should double the Geforce Now library. Essentially, if a game dev checks the box to allow it, the game will be available to quickly download and install on GeForce Now just as it would be on your local computer. This means you can access games that haven't been properly put onto the GeForce Now cloud yet by Nvidia for instant play. The catch is that you have to install this game each time you boot up your GeForce Now session, and Premium members get just 100 GB of single-session storage. All of this is included in the subscription, though if you want persistent storage so you don't have to reinstall each time you boot up, you can pay extra for that. It'll be $2.99 for 200 GB, $4.99 for 500 GB, or $7.99 for 1 TB. Nvidia seems to be leaning hard into the whole 'making it like your local PC' thing -- in fact, the company said this explicitly: "We're trying to make GeForce Now feel like a local gaming PC." In addition to RTX 5080 performance and Install-to-Play, GeForce Now should also be getting some better visuals with "next-gen image quality that rivals local PC gaming" in a new Cinematic Quality Streaming (CQS) mode. That's thanks to a range of things such as YUV 4:4:4 Chroma subsampling, HDR10 and SDR10, AI video filter, and so on (see the slide above for full details). There's also support for high refresh rates -- up to 120 fps at 5K, 240 fps at 1440p, and 360 fps at 1080p -- plus new LG TV and monitor support. An obvious bottleneck to all of this can be one's internet connection, and while speeds are getting faster by the year, there's still a way to go to get things perfect. On this front, Nvidia says it's working towards low latency streaming (LLS) by working with Comcast, T-Mobile, and BT on L4S (low latency/low loss) network support. Eventually, Nvidia says, you'll be able to check whether this is currently enabled or disabled on the network line you're connecting over. Nvidia claims just 30 ms of total system latency playing Overwatch 2 in 360 Hz mode -- presumably at 1080p -- though we'll have to check it out ourselves to see how likely those low latency results are in practice. There have been a couple of other additions to GeForce Now -- racing wheels, Steam Deck, and Legion Go S support -- but the main thrust is the improved quality, with a focus on making the game streaming service more like playing on your local PC. That means higher frame rates, visual fidelity, and low latency. Hopefully, server capacity ramps up quickly, along with more games getting support for the RTX 5080 mode.

GeForce NOW Gets RTX 5080 Upgrade With 5K 120fps Support

Nvidia is giving its GeForce NOW Ultimate subscription an upgrade starting September 2025. The cloud gaming service will soon run on RTX 5080-class graphics cards, replacing the older RTX 4080 hardware for top-tier subscribers. These new GPUs, built on Nvidia's Blackwell architecture, allow streaming at up to 5K resolution with frame rates reaching 120fps. They also support DLSS 4 with Multi-Frame Generation, which uses AI to boost frame rates by generating extra frames between traditionally rendered ones. Nvidia says this new setup can deliver as much as 2.8 times the performance of its RTX 4080-based servers, thanks to 62 teraflops of compute power and a large 48GB memory buffer. The upgrade means smoother gameplay across different resolutions. For those playing at 1080p, the service can now reach up to 360fps. At 1440p, the limit rises to 240fps, while 5K gaming is capped at 120fps. Nvidia is also introducing a new "Cinematic Quality Streaming" mode, aimed at players who prioritize visuals over raw speed. This setting adds HDR10 support, an AI-based video filter that smooths motion, and AV1 encoding with advanced resampling for higher image quality. To handle this, the service allows streaming at up to 100 Mbps, provided the user's internet connection can keep up. Another major change is the introduction of "Install-to-Play." This new feature lets players download Steam games to Nvidia's cloud storage, treating them as if they were installed on a local machine. The benefit is twofold: it doubles the size of GeForce NOW's available library to more than 4,500 titles, and it also makes it possible to play certain games that were previously unstreamable. For users, it means less waiting around for downloads when starting a session. Nvidia GeForce NOW Cloud Hardware Comparison FeatureRTX 4080-Class SystemsRTX 5080-Class Systems (Ultimate)GPU ArchitectureAda LovelaceBlackwellCompute Performance~25 TFLOPs62 TFLOPsVRAM / Frame Buffer24 GB48 GBDLSS SupportDLSS 3 + DLSS 4 (1 frame generated per rendered frame)DLSS 4 (up to 3 generated frames per rendered frame)Max Resolution4K5KMax Frame Rate (1080p)240 fps360 fpsMax Frame Rate (1440p)240 ps240 fpsMax Frame Rate (4K)240 fps240 fpsMax Frame Rate (5K)Not supported120 fpsNew Streaming ModeStandard / BalancedCinematic Quality Streaming (HDR10, AV1 codec, AI motion smoothing, up to 100 Mbps)Cloud Storage (per session)100 GB (Performance tier only)100 GB (Ultimate)Permanent Cloud Storage (add-on)Available starting at $3/month (200 GB)Available starting at $3/month (200 GB)Target PlansFree & Performance subscriptionsUltimate subscription only Subscribers to the Ultimate and Performance tiers will get 100GB of session-based storage for Install-to-Play. However, Nvidia also offers permanent cloud storage as an add-on. This ensures downloaded games remain installed between play sessions, eliminating the need to re-download them each time. The add-on starts at $3 per month for 200GB of storage, with larger tiers expected to be available as well. While European pricing has not yet been revealed, the model is designed to give players flexibility depending on how many games they want stored in the cloud. For now, the upgrade is limited to the Ultimate subscription, while the free and Performance tiers will continue running on RTX 4080-based systems. But for those willing to pay for the best experience, the combination of RTX 5080 hardware, DLSS 4 enhancements, and cloud-based game installs marks one of the biggest steps forward for GeForce NOW since it launched. This move highlights Nvidia's push to keep cloud gaming competitive with high-end PCs, offering not just higher resolutions and smoother frame rates, but also a way to bridge the gap between streaming and traditional local gaming.

NVIDIA unveils how cloud gaming image quality now rivals local PC gaming

TL;DR: NVIDIA's GeForce NOW platform now features the RTX 5080 SuperPod Network, delivering up to 2.8x faster performance and Cinematic Quality Streaming for enhanced image fidelity. Upgrades like AV1 encoding, YUV 4:4:4 Chroma support, and AI Video Filter ensure sharper, smoother cloud gaming rivaling local PC quality. NVIDIA has unveiled a selection of upgrades to its cloud gaming platform GeForce NOW, with the company announcing an overhaul to its network that significantly reduces the difference between playing a game locally and streaming it. NVIDIA is bringing its Blackwell architecture to the GeForce NOW platform in the form of what the company is calling the GeForce RTX 5080 SuperPod Network. This new RTX 5080-powered platform will enable members to access the power of an RTX 5080 and all of its extra features. One of the newly announced features is Cinematic Quality Streaming (CQS), which NVIDIA informs us is the fix to what many GeForce NOW community members were requesting - improved image quality. NVIDIA explained that GeForce Now Ultimate is up to 2.8x faster with the newly integrated RTX 5080 SuperPod, and with the extra performance headroom, the company is able to roll out CQS, which provides next-generation image quality that NVIDIA says "rivals local PC gaming". NVIDIA explained that engineers have implemented several new technologies into the streaming pipeline, such as support for YUV 4:4:4 Chroma, for sharper text and no color bleeding. "A new Cinematic Quality Streaming mode significantly improves graphical fidelity with Blackwell-powered technology for stunning color accuracy, supersmooth streaming and crystal-clear graphics," writes NVIDIA in its press release Other features that are set to drastically improve GeForce NOW's image quality are upgrades to AV1 encoding, with the addition of Reference Picture Resampling (RPR). NVIDIA says this improves the resolution shifting for a stable streaming experience. Furthermore, NVIDIA has added "AI Video Filter," which enables less noise and artifacts present in an image.

NVIDIA GeForce NOW Recieves Blackwell Upgrade For The Same Price: Now With RTX 5080-Class Performance & AMD Zen 5 CPUs, Enhanced Visual Quality Rivaling Local PC Gaming, 90 FPS Steam Deck Support

NVIDIA GeForce Now is getting a huge upgrade with Blackwell, now offering RTX 5080-levels of performance at the same price, along with many more improvements. NVIDIA Drops Its Biggest GeForce Now Upgrade Yet With Blackwell: RTX 5080 Performance For Cloud Gaming, Better Quality, Smoother Gameplay & Much More Today, NVIDIA is announcing its biggest GeForce Now upgrade. These include various new features and improvements thanks to the Blackwell GPU architecture, which are listed below: * GeForce RTX 5080 Performance * Cinematic Quality Streaming * Low-Latency Streaming * New Partner Devices * New Games * Install-To-Play So the first and most major upgrade to GeForce Now is the switch from Ada Lovelace architecture to Blackwell. This is achieved through the new GeForce RTX 5080 SuperPod network, which includes their dedicated servers equipped with a custom GPU with 48 GB VRAM, a total of 60 GB memory per Superpod, and double the tensor core amount for AI tasks such as DLSS. This GPU will deliver each user with up to RTX 5080 levels of performance and an 8-Core AMD Ryzen CPU based on the Zen 5 core architecture with a 4.4 GHz clock speed, and a 30% uplift over the current-gen Superpod processor. GPU upgrade from RTX 4080 and RTX 5080 brings a whole lot of efficiency, tech, and performance improvements, while the CPU upgrade from the older 8-Core Zen 3 architecture to the brand new Zen 5 architecture is going to deliver some big gains. Diving into some numbers shared by NVIDIA shows that GeForce Now RTX 5080 Superpod offers 3x the TFLOPs of the Sony PlayStation 5 Pro. This upgrade also allows NVIDIA to achieve a 2.8x uplift over the RTX 4080 Ultimate "GeForce Now" solution. The hardware upgrade also allows NVIDIA to achieve better image quality, which they claim can achieve visuals on par with local PC gaming. This is a huge claim, and NVIDIA has added various features to achieve this level of fidelity, which are part of its CQS (Cinematic Quality Streaming) mode. The list of features includes: * YUV 4:4:4 Chroma: Full color precision with sharper text and no color blend * HDR10: Wider color gamut * SDR10: Richer colors, deeper contrast, and smoother gradients * AV1 + RPR: Smooth resolution shifts for stable streaming * AI Video Filter: Cleaner motion with less noise and artifacts * DPI Awareness: Sharper visuals on high-res laptop displays * 100 Mbps Streaming: Ultra-clear quality, even in detailed scenes * HUD sharpness: Clearer HUD and UI for an improved gameplay experience GeForce Now will also introduce a new Low Latency Streaming (LLS) mode, which is said to rival the latency of all popular gaming devices. The GeForce Now Server supports Reflex and Rivermax HW packet packing, which allows direct data transfer to-and-from the GPU, ensuring smoother latency even at high bit rates. NVIDIA has also worked with Global ISPs and internet providers to enable L4S Network Support, which helps to reduce latency drastically when packets are traveling through the network. This allows clients to receive support for up to 360 FPS (1080p) & 240 (1440p) streaming, Cloud G-Sync. This new low-latency streaming with GeForce Now offers very responsive gaming even in competitive games at 360Hz with 30ms of click-to-photon latency in games such as Overwatch 2. For comparison, PlayStation 5 Pro at 120Hz mode achieves a latency of 49ms using the same network with 10ms RTD. As for new client devices, NVIDIA's GeForce Now is adding more to the support list with Valve's Steam Deck OLED now receiving 90 FPS streaming, and Lenovo's Legion Go S receiving 120 FPS streaming. Support is also extended to racing wheels from Logitech, and LG TVs/Monitors, enabling up to 4K 120 FPS with HDR, and 5K 120 FPS OLED mode. GeForce Now is also receiving new AAA games, with the latest ones listed below: * Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 * Borderlands 4 * Dying Light: The Beast * The Outer Worlds 2 * ARC Raiders * Hell is Us Another brand new feature coming to GeForce Now is Install-to-Play. This new feature will expand the GeForce Now library to 2500+ Steam Games. How this happens is that when a publisher opts to open their game for cloud gaming, NVIDIA will be able to process that game and make it available to users. The game will be downloaded and installed by GeForce Now and streamed directly. These servers are equipped with a new high-speed NVMesh storage, which provides local-like performance, and premium members get 100 GB of single-session storage. The persistent nature of the storage infrastructure will keep these games installed across sessions and preserve saved game data without relying on Steam Cloud. So to sum things up: * The NVIDIA Blackwell architecture is coming to GeForce NOW in the platform's biggest update yet, delivering NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080-class GPUs to the cloud, including NVIDIA DLSS 4 Multi-Frame Generation for streaming up to 5K resolution at 120 frames per second, new AI-powered features, and more. * The GeForce NOW game library will double to over 4,500 titles with the launch of Install-to-Play, allowing members to access more of their PC collections, along with upcoming AAA games launching in the cloud. * A new Cinematic Quality Streaming mode significantly improves graphical fidelity with Blackwell-powered technology for stunning color accuracy, supersmooth streaming, and crystal-clear graphics. * The extensive list of supported devices continues to grow -- now including racing wheels, up to 90 fps on the Steam Deck, 4K at 120Hz on supported LG TVs, and more. * NVIDIA, Discord, and Epic are partnering to enable an integrated experience for Fortnite players to invite friends directly in Discord via a limited-time trial of a GeForce NOW Performance experience, transforming new game discovery and social gaming. And lastly, we have the pricing. NVIDIA's GeForce Now with the upgraded Blackwell architecture will be available at the same price as the existing packages, with the "Ultimate" option starting at $19.99 US, and the "Performance" option starting at $9.99 per month. The Persistent Cloud Storage Add-ons will be priced at $2.99 for 200 GB, $4.99 for 500 GB, and $7.99 for 1 TB. NVIDIA Blackwell RTX on GeForce Now will roll out in September this year, along with its full launch. You can reserve a spot for early access to RTX 5080-class servers here.

Nvidia GeForce Now Powered By RTX 5080, Supports Low Latency Streaming

Prices remain the same while adding support for more devices, AAA games, and cloud storage options. Cloud gaming has always promised high-end performance without the heavy price of a gaming PC, but it rarely feels like the actual thing. That's why Nvidia is stepping on the gas pedal at Gamescom 2025, with a ton of new features coming to GeForce Now. Nvidia's cloud game streaming service is now being upgraded to a full gaming rig, giving players desktop-level power on any device. Here's everything Nvidia GeForce Now will feature in the new RTX 5080-powered SuperPod network that might make you consider getting that subscription. With the Blackwell RTX lineup hitting the market just a few months ago, Nvidia is now pushing that same power into the cloud. GeForce Now is getting the RTX 5080 upgrade, making cloud gaming faster, smoother, and far more visually impressive. Before diving into the details, here's a quick look at what's new in the latest GeForce Now update: To power up all the new technology, Nvidia is building SuperPods. These supercomputers will maintain all the process that runs the games on the cloud. The new RTX 5080 will power the GPU department, but that is not all. For the processing power, these SuperPods will use the new AMD Ryzen 4.4 GHZ CPU with 8 cores and 16 threads. Moreover, the RAM or system memory will be doubled on the new supercomputer networks. Remember, the RTX 5080 will be coming to GeForce Now Ultimate, but what power does it bring? The GeForce RTX 5080 will be delivering unmatched performance with the power of Blackwell SuperPods. It introduces Blackwell features such as DLSS 4, full ray tracing with neural rendering, and advanced mega geometry capabilities. Gamers can expect up to a 2.8x increase in FPS compared to the RTX 4080, enabling ultra-smooth streaming at the highest resolutions: 5K at 60 and 120 FPS, 1080p at 360 FPS, and 1440p at 240 FPS. With a massive 48GB frame buffer and double the Tensor Cores for superior AI-driven enhancements, the RTX 5080 sets a new benchmark for next-gen performance, delivering three times the raw TFLOPS performance of a PlayStation 5 Pro. With the GeForce Now streaming quality being a little dull in terms of image quality previously, Nvidia is making huge changes. With the 5080 SuperPods, GeForce Now is adding a new feature called CQS, or Cinematic Quality Streaming. It will make your cloud streaming much better. But how? Cinematic Quality Streaming (CQS) delivers next-gen image quality that rivals local PC gaming, featuring YUV 4:4:4 Chroma for sharper text and no color bleed, HDR10 and SDR10 for vibrant colors, deep contrast, and smooth gradients. It uses AV1 + RPR for stable resolution shifts and an AI video filter for cleaner motion with fewer artifacts. With DPI awareness for sharper visuals, 100 Mbps streaming for ultra-clear detail, and enhanced HUD sharpness for improved UI clarity, CQS ensures an immersive and polished streaming experience. In short, the images on your screen will look much cleaner with this technology. The foliage and texture quality will look much better, giving the players a more 'playing on a PC experience.' One of the major negatives of cloud gaming has been the latency issues in the past. Low Latency Streaming (LLS) is designed to deliver gaming performance with latency that solves that. It combines NVIDIA Reflex and Rivermax hardware packet pacing on GeForce Now servers into L4S (Low Latency, Low Loss, Scalable) network support. This is supported by networks from major ISPs like Comcast, T-Mobile, and BT Group, and ensures optimized network latency. On the user's end, GeForce Now devices enable 360 FPS streaming and Cloud G-SYNC for ultra-responsive, tear-free gameplay. This seamless integration ensures an exceptionally smooth and lag-free cloud gaming experience. If we go by numbers, GeForce Now Ultimate with the RTX 5080 offers exceptional low-latency performance, achieving just 30ms of click-to-photon latency in 360Hz mode. It lowers to 49ms on the PlayStation 5 Pro running at 120Hz. This shows how GeForce Now's cloud streaming can match or even surpass the responsiveness of local console gaming. With such low latency, competitive gamers can experience smooth, ultra-fast input response, making cloud gaming a viable option for high-performance, fast-paced titles. When it comes to device support, GeForce NOW powered by the RTX 5080 takes things up a notch. The Valve Steam Deck will now run at its native 90Hz, while new handhelds like the Lenovo Legion Go S can stream games at 120Hz. This cloud-based approach also saves battery life since these devices won't need to max out their processing power to deliver high-end performance. Racing fans aren't left out either; GeForce Now will support Logitech Racing Wheels, complete with haptics for a more immersive driving experience. And for those who prefer big screens over mobile gaming, LG TVs will stream at 4K 120 FPS with HDR, while LG OLED monitors can hit an impressive 5K 120 FPS. Discord, Epic Games, and Nvidia have teamed up to introduce a new 'Instant Play' feature designed to make gaming as seamless as possible. This frictionless mode eliminates the hassle of constant logins and lengthy setups. Here's how it works: if you spot a friend playing Fortnite on Discord, you can simply click 'Play Now' and jump straight into the game. No downloads, no logins required. While the demo will feature Fortnite first, more titles are expected to join this instant access experience soon. On top of the instant play feature, Nvidia has announced the 'Install-to-Play' feature, designed to double the GeForce Now library by adding support for over 2,500 additional Steam games. This feature allows games to be downloaded to cloud storage, utilizing high-speed NVMe mesh storage for performance that feels local. Premium members will receive 100 GB of single-session storage, while an optional persistent storage add-on will keep games installed across sessions and preserve saved data for titles without Steam Cloud support. With scalable support for Steam's entire library, Install-to-Play significantly expands the possibilities for cloud gaming. We will also see big AAA games like Call of Duty Black Ops 7, Borderlands 4, Arc Raiders, and more coming to GeForce Now on the launch day. Don't worry, the pricing part remains unchanged. GeForce Now will continue offering three membership tiers starting September 2025 at the same price. The Free tier provides 1-hour sessions, up to 1080p/60 FPS, and basic access to over 2000 games with ads. The Performance tier costs $9.99/month, offering 6-hour sessions, up to 1440p resolution, 60 FPS, and priority access. The Ultimate tier, priced at $21.99/month, delivers 8-hour sessions, up to 4K resolution at 240 FPS. Moreover, this tier gets players first-priority access and includes RTX 4080 performance with select games playable on RTX 5080 servers. Persistent cloud storage add-ons start at $2.99 for 200 GB. The cloud storage expansion will be permanent on your GeForce account. Apart from the massive changes to GeForce Now, Nvidia is also bringing DLSS 4 to the upcoming AAA titles and finally adding the new RTX hair feature. So, what do you think of the new GeForce Now 5080 features? Do tell us in the comments.