Following the Xbox Game Showcase, Microsoft Gaming executives shared some rather big news via an Xbox Wire blog post: Game Pass subscribers will soon be able to stream select PC games via GeForce NOW.
A few months ago, Microsoft announced a partnership with NVIDIA to bring its PC games to the GeForce NOW cloud streaming service. It was one of several deals cooked by Microsoft to assuage regulator concerns on potential competition issues for the cloud market stemming from the $68.7 Activision Blizzard merger. That worked with everyone except the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, which blocked the deal, though Microsoft is appealing the decision with the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).
Anyway, while the Activision Blizzard merger is still up in the air, Microsoft has already begun porting its games to GeForce NOW (and Boosteroid). The first game was Gears 5, with Deathloop, Grounded, and Pentiment following suit, and the whole Age of Empires saga landing on GFN later this month.
Critically, though, there was never any talk about Game Pass subscribers being entitled to streaming rights on GeForce NOW (or any other streaming service, for that matter). After all, the Game Pass Ultimate tier has its own built-in streaming functionality derived from XCloud, which has always been perceived as a competitor to NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW.
Perhaps this is yet another attempt from Microsoft to change the CMA’s mind. Regardless of that, it’s great news for cloud gaming users because GeForce NOW is far superior to XCloud from a technical standpoint. While XCloud servers are using server blades modeled after Xbox Series X consoles for optimal compatibility with the Xbox library, GeForce NOW includes various tiers that culminate with the Ultimate tier offering RTX 4080-like performance with DLSS 2 (Super Resolution), DLSS 3 (Frame Generation), and RTX support. Additionally, GeForce NOW supports up to 4K and 120 frames per second streaming, whereas XCloud is still stuck at 1080@60FPS streaming.
The only question at this point is which games will be supported. Theoretically, the wording ‘select PC games’ might have been chosen because some third-party studios with titles on Game Pass may not have granted their permission to stream on GeForce NOW. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense for Microsoft to announce the news and then not enable their own games to be compatible.
It’s speculation, but there’s a chance Game Pass users might be able to stream Starfield on an RTX 4080-like configuration via GeForce NOW when the game launches on September 6th. On that note, Bethesda Game Studios shared the official PC system requirements yesterday, and they’ve also provided a ton of new info on the gameplay mechanics.
