Nvidia GeForce Now gets an RTX 50-series upgrade for cinematic quality gaming
DLSS 4 and Multi-Frame Generation come to cloud streaming
🎮 Nvidia has upgraded GeForce Now game streaming with RTX 50-series graphics cards
⚡️ Blackwell-powered streaming adds DLSS 4 and MFG to push up to 5K 120fps gaming
🎬 Cinematic Quality Streaming improves streaming with HDR color, smooth frame rates, optimized resolution, and a higher bitrate
🕹️ GeForce Now on Steam Deck runs at a higher 90fps
📺 LG TVs add 4K 120fps streaming, while LG gaming monitors can push 5K
📚 Install-to-Play adds up to 2,200+ new games from Steam you can play on GeForce Now
💵 No price increase for GeForce Now Ultimate ($19/mo) or GeForce Now Premium ($9/mo)
📅 Nvidia will begin bringing RTX 50-series Superpods online starting in September
Nvidia GeForce is finally being upgraded with RTX 50-series graphics, allowing you to stream games with up to a virtual Nvidia RTX 5080-powered gaming PC.
However, unlike the previous jump from RTX 30-series to RTX 40-series that just added better graphics and more FPS, Nvidia is adding a whole host of upgrades with the RTX 50-series jump. Namely, you can take advantage of DLSS 4 and Multi-Frame Generation to get up to 5K 120fps gaming. You’ll also be able to stream games to a Steam Deck at 90fps or the Lenovo Legion Go S with Steam OS at 120fps.
Nvidia is also making streaming games look better with what it calls Cinematic Quality Streaming. This essentially fine-tunes the look of a stream so you see fewer jaggy edges whenever there’s a lot of foliage on screen. Cinematic Quality Streaming also improves color accuracy, makes streaming smoother, and uses a higher 100Mbps bit-rate to enhance the quality of streaming.
The last significant improvement Nvidia has made to GeForce Now is that it will support over 2,200 more games by allowing users to install games from Steam to their virtual streaming PCs. The new feature is called Install-to-Play, and it lets users add games to their GeForce Now PC even if the titles aren’t yet officially supported by GeForce Now.
Nvidia plans to starting bringing RTX 50-series Superpods online in September. Unfortunately, the company wasn’t ready to share exactly when in September. Nvidia also stressed that GeForce Now gamers will still see RTX 4080-powered connections as it makes the Blackwell integration a rolling upgrade to its Superpods.
Blackwell comes to GeForce Now
Nvidia told us it had to develop new RTX 50-series powered Superpods to deliver this latest iteration of GeForce Now. Not only do these supercomputers offer 62 teraflops of compute performance power, but the memory has also been increased to a 48GB frame buffer.
This extra memory lets you turn on more visual effects and get a smoother streaming experience. However, Nvidia said it also prepared these new Superpods for the future of AI-enhanced gaming.
All told, Nvidia claims these new RTX 50-series powered Superpods can deliver 2.8x fps increase over the RTX 4080 – of course, that’s with Multi-Frame Generation turned on. Generated frames or not, GeForce Now users of all levels can expect higher fps up to 5K 120fps, 1440p 240fps, and 1080p 360fps.
To help keep up with these higher frame rates, Nvidia said it's working directly with broadband providers worldwide. Comcast has notably promised lower-latency GeForce Now streaming, while the German-based Deutsche Telekom AG is integrating the service with its 5G+ network.
Cinematic-Quality Streaming
More than just frame rate, Nvidia is promising that GeForce Now-streamed games will look better overall with Cinematic Quality Streaming.
Cinematic Quality Streaming improves HDR gaming with added support for the 10-bit 4:4:4 YUV color model. Nvidia is also employing the AV1 codec it already uses for streaming video, and applying it to streaming games while increasing the bitrate to 100Mbps. The AV1 codec intelligently detects your screen resolution to give you the sharpest picture needed instead of senselessly streaming a 4K picture to your 1440p monitor.
Nvidia is also employing multiple AI video filters. Some will sharpen the text on your heads-up display while others will reduce the blur of fast-paced games.
Install-to-Play
If you’ve ever been frustrated that Helldivers 2 or another game hasn’t come to GeForce Now yet, Install-to-Play is here to save the day.
Install-to-Play allows users to install almost any game onto their virtual gaming PC on GeForce Now. Nvidia claims this increases the number of GeForce Now-supported games to over 2,200 more titles from Steam.
GeForce NOW Ultimate and Performance members will be automatically awarded 100GB cloud storage for Install-to-Play games. However, if you need more storage – and you will to fully install Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 later this year – it’ll cost extra. So far, Nvidia has new monthly additions, including $2.99 for 200GB, $4.99 for 500GB, and $7.99 for 1TB.
Also, only GeForce Now Ultimate users will have access to persistent storage on their virtual gaming PCs. Those on Nvidia’s lower-tier game streaming plans will have to reinstall the games with every login.
New device support
Nvidia GeForce Now just came to Steam OS gaming handhelds earlier this year, and now they’re getting an upgrade with higher frame rates.
Steam Deck owners will now be able to stream games at up to 90fps, while Lenovo Legion Go S handhelds running Steam OS can put up to 1080p 120fps.
What’s more, GeForce Now can run on LG TVs to stream at a 4K resolution with a 120Hz frame rate and full HDR color. GeForce Now can even run on LG’s smart gaming monitors to push up to a 5K resolution experience over streaming. Lastly, Nvidia noted it has added racing wheel controller support on GeForce Now for the first time.
Kevin Lee is The Shortcut’s Creative Director. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam.