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Windows Central
Windows Central
Technology
Zachary Boddy

NVIDIA GeForce Now memberships are half off, just in time to check out the "half" integration in the Xbox Store

Header for newly added games for GeForce NOW.

What you need to know

  • NVIDIA GeForce Now is one of the best cloud gaming platforms in the world, letting you play thousands of PC games on any device.
  • For a limited time, all NVIDIA GeForce Now memberships are half off, making this the perfect opportunity to try the service for yourself.
  • It's good timing, too, as GeForce Now is also officially integrated into the Xbox Store in addition to supporting PC Game Pass.
  • Well... It's kind of integrated. Selecting "Play with cloud gaming" on supported titles gives you a link that brings you to the GeForce Now website.

Many people may think of Xbox Cloud Gaming first when it comes to streaming their favorite games to any device, but one of the best services in the category is actually NVIDIA GeForce Now. Competitive pricing, a massive library of supported games, and best-in-class visual fidelity and bitrate performance means that, in many ways, GeForce Now is a more appealing cloud gaming platform than Xbox's in-house solution. Now, NVIDIA and Xbox have both made GeForce Now even more attractive.

NVIDIA's summer sale is slicing the price of all GeForce Now monthly and bi-annual subscriptions in half. That means, at least for a limited time, you can hop on the cloud gaming train from $4.99 a month at NVIDIA. Well, there's actually still the free, ad-supported trial tier, but half off zero is still zero.

In addition to the sale, Xbox has integrated NVIDIA GeForce Now into the Microsoft Store, making it more seamless for Xbox players to stream their favorite Xbox and PC games with NVIDIA. On second thought, "seamless" may not be quite the right word.

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Here's the new NVIDIA GeForce Now integration in all its mediocre glory. (Image credit: Xbox | X)

I don't need to spend much time selling NVIDIA GeForce Now to you, because the service speaks for itself. It's a simple proposition: play the games you own, but do so via high-end NVIDIA-powered PCs over the cloud. The resolution, framerate, visual fidelity, bitrate performance, and latency of GeForce Now is class-leading in every respect compared to competing cloud gaming services, especially Xbox Cloud Gaming.

NVIDIA GeForce Now already secured PC Game Pass integration nearly a year ago, but visibility for the integration has still been poor. Recently, Xbox and NVIDIA took an important (but minor step) toward better integration: adding GeForce Now to the Microsoft Store. "Integration" may be pushing it, however, given what's actually going on here.

If you head to the online Xbox Store (not the Microsoft Store apps on Xbox or Windows PC, or the Xbox PC app), and find supported PC Game Pass titles while signed in with your subscribed Microsoft Account, you'll see the "Play with cloud gaming" button with an "Available with 2 services" subtitle. Click that button, and Xbox will let you choose between the fully integrated Xbox Cloud Gaming... and a link to the NVIDIA GeForce Now website.

It's better integration than before solely due to the added visibility (many PC Game Pass subscribers may not know they can stream many of those games through GeForce Now), but it's a far cry from actual, complete integration into the Xbox ecosystem. Still, I'll take it.

NVIDIA GeForce Now works great with the Steam Deck and other handhelds. (Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)

Our own Jez Corden has analyzed in-depth what may be next for Xbox Game Pass, which may include major improvements to Xbox Cloud Gaming, but for now this is what we're left with. I can't complain too much, though, considering how good NVIDIA GeForce Now is as a cloud gaming service. The aforementioned Jez Corden recently played World of Warcraft via GeForce Now on hotel Wi-Fi and came away believing it must be operated on black magic, and that's a sentiment shared by many who have experienced the physics-defying performance and visual fidelity of GeForce Now.

Hopefully, we'll see Xbox Cloud Gaming take some major steps of its own and NVIDIA GeForce Now be even more deeply integrated into the Xbox ecosystem, like actually being able to stream from GeForce Now directly from the Microsoft Store or Xbox consoles, similarly to Xbox Cloud Gaming. We can have both, and I'm excited for the possibility. In the meantime, you can invest in GeForce Now yourself from just $4.99/month at NVIDIA with the ongoing GeForce Now summer sale.

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