NVIDIA GeForce Now finally arrives at iOS following the Amazon Luna idea: with a web app.
NVIDIA GeForce Now has been available on Android and computers for some time, but iOS was a pending subject, as it is for Google Stadia and Microsoft xCloud. At least until today. NVIDIA has just announced that GeForce Now, its streaming video game platform, arrives today at iOS in beta. Instead of a native app, NVIDIA has opted for a strategy similar to that of Amazon Luna: the service is accessed through the browser, specifically from Safari.
iOS now supports game streaming
In this way, from today, players who bet on GeForce Now will be able to access its library of titles from an iPhone or iPad as they can already do on Android. The platform is compatible with PlayStation and Xbox controllers, but not with the keyboard and mouse, so those games that depend solely on these peripherals will not be available.
As every player who has tried the game in streaming will know, GeForce Now allows access to Steam games, Epic Games, Ubisoft+ and, soon, GOG, directly from the cloud. The game runs on NVIDIA machines and the user simply downloads the image in real time. One of the keys to GeForce Now is the support for ray tracing, although it is necessary to pay the Founders subscription.
- NVIDIA GeForce Now game streaming service is on
- Amazon Luna opens its streaming service in early access
The advantage of GeForce Now is that it allows you to play games that you have previously purchased. You don’t have to buy them again or buy them within the platform like in Google Stadia. We simply launch Steam, Epic or Ubisoft+, choose the game and it runs on the NVIDIA servers. Among the titles available are ‘Watch Dogs: Legion’, ‘Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’ and, soon, ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ will arrive with ray tracing included. In total there are around 750 games available, 75 of which are free to play.
Unlike Android, where platforms such as Google Stadia or Microsoft xCloud are natively accessible, iOS/Apple has much more restrictive policies. For example, that each game must be reviewed by Apple and that, in addition, it must be published as an independent application in the App Store. This has caused the game in streaming not to take off in iOS, although Apple has not closed the doors to it completely.
In its own policies, Apple explains that companies and developers always have the browser at their disposal, so they can develop webapps that somehow replace native applications. That’s exactly what Amazon Luna has done during the testing period now taking place in the United States, and that’s exactly what NVIDIA has done. Instead of launching an app, it has created a web client accessible from Safari that, for practical purposes, works the same way, and avoids having to submit to the requirements of the App Store.
On the other hand, NVIDIA has tried to tackle the problem of ‘Fortnite’ and Apple and has announced that they are working on a tactile version of the famous battle royale, which “will delay the availability of the game in GeForce Now”. The idea is to bring the experience of the native iOS app ‘Fortnite’ to GeForce Now. You will have to wait to know more details about this release.
GeForce Now pricing refreshed
GeForce Now can be played in two ways: free or paid, with more or less limitations. The free access allows you to play for one hour, without ray tracing and without priority access (without passing through a virtual queue). The Founders access, on the other hand, allows you to play with ray tracing in sessions of up to six hours and offers priority access. The price of this subscription is 4.99 dollars per month.
