Is GeForce Now the Future of Gaming?

Gaming is changing—and fast. For years, the shift from physical discs to digital downloads has been normalised. I remember buying my physical copy of Half-Life 2 which required Steam to be downloaded and installed before playing. Things have evolved further in 2024, and with services like GeForce Now, it seems like cloud gaming could be the next big leap forward. But is the cloud really the future of gaming? Or is it just another fad that is doomed to crumble under the weight of its own ambition, pushing internet speeds and technology to its limits?

As someone who’s been testing GeForce Now for a while, I have thoughts about it—lots of them! My girlfriend and I recently dived into Fortnite Lego together; she was on her PS5, I was streaming the game on a Steam Deck via GeForce Now (Ultimate). The experience? Pretty mind-blowing and close to perfect. But let’s break down what makes GeForce Now such a potential game-changer and where it still falls short of perfection.

The Death of Physical Ownership in Gaming

I think its safe to say that as gamers, we’ve all come to terms with the fact that buying physical copies of games that include a disc and a manual has become a thing of the past. It’s been replaced by quick and convenient digital downloads that you can instantly buy and gain access to. Things are still evolving though as now, even digital versions of your purchased games aren’t what they seem.

When you buy a game via Steam or Epic, what you’re actually purchasing isn’t the game itself, but just a licence to access it. You don’t actually own the game as you would a physical disc version. GeForce Now takes this idea one step further – you don’t even have to have the game downloaded to your hardware, or the hardware itself! Instead, you’re streaming it, just like you would a show on Netflix or Amazon.

Streaming games means no massive downloads, no storage limits, and no need to upgrade your PC every couple of years which, at this point, is becoming increasingly expensive. But at the same time, you’ve relinquished even more control. The game is running on Nvidia’s servers, and you’re simply interacting with it remotely. That could be the future. But is it a future everyone wants?

My Personal GeForce Now Experience

As I mentioned, my girlfriend and I were playing Fortnite—she on her PS5 and me on the Steam Deck via GeForce Now. It wasn’t just a quick test; it was an intense session, and to be honest, the visuals on my Deck were incredible. I couldn’t believe that a small handheld device could deliver an experience nearly indistinguishable from playing natively on a high-end console – even if it wasn’t running directly on the Deck’s hardware.

With GeForce Now’s Ultimate tier, I was getting access to RTX 4080 performance—yes, that beast of a GPU—through the cloud. Unreal Engine features like Lumen and Nanite were in full swing, making everything pop in ways that seemed impossible for a handheld. The power of the cloud essentially transformed my Steam Deck into a high-end gaming PC, without the £1,000+ investment. If you’ve ever doubted cloud gaming’s potential, this kind of experience could make you rethink everything.

Is Cloud Gaming Better than Consoles?

Here’s where things get interesting. Is cloud gaming – specifically GeForce Now – actually better than playing on consoles like the PS5 or Xbox Series X? Let’s take a closer look.

Cloud gaming does offer some undeniable advantages over traditional consoles:

• No need for hardware upgrades: With GeForce Now, the gaming rig is always up to date (at least in terms of hardware). You don’t have to worry about the hardware you are using becoming obsolete, as Nvidia handles that part.
• Play anywhere, on almost anything: Whether it’s a phone, tablet, or Steam Deck, as long as you have a stable internet connection, you can game.
• Graphics and performance: The Ultimate tier with access to RTX 4080-grade performance (or latest Nvidia GPU models) beats most current consoles in terms of sheer power, especially when it comes to features such as ray tracing and AI-enhanced visuals like Lumen in Unreal Engine 5. You also gain the benefits of upscaling features such as DLSS too.

But what about the downsides?

• Internet dependency: The most significant limitation with cloud gaming is your internet connection. If you don’t have a reliable, high-speed connection, you’ll experience lag, drops in resolution, and general frustration.

• Latency issues: Although GeForce Now’s servers are optimised for low latency, it’s not always perfect. Competitive gamers might notice the slight delay between pressing a button and seeing the action on screen. I repeatedly experienced packet loss on a range of high-end connections when testing both Priority and Ultimate membership tiers (although I didn’t notice any impact on gameplay).

• Game updates: One of the more frustrating downsides is that Nvidia can sometimes take a long time to update games when patches are released. While your console or PC automatically updates, cloud gaming services like GeForce Now may lag behind with some games being offline for maintenance or updates for days or even weeks at a time.

• Bandwidth requirements: Streaming games in 4K with ray tracing requires a lot of bandwidth. Not everyone has the luxury of unlimited data, and depending on your connection, you could face serious data caps.

GeForce Now vs. Consoles

GeForce Now and the Steam Deck: A Perfect Match?

When Nvidia announced GeForce Now, it felt like it was designed with PC gamers in mind. And let me tell you, GeForce Now and the Steam Deck are a match made in gaming heaven (praise Gabe!). The Deck’s lower-resolution screen means you don’t need to stream in full 4K for everything to look sharp and vibrant. 1080p or even 720p is enough to make games look incredible on that 7-inch display, saving bandwidth while still delivering top-tier visuals.

Add in the flexibility of being able to take your games anywhere, and you have a portable, console-quality experience in your hands without worrying about storage or the Steam Deck’s relatively modest specs that are starting to struggle when running the latest AAA releases.

The biggest positive here is that the Deck doesn’t have to struggle with the more demanding PC games. The cloud does the heavy lifting, and the Deck just handles the controls and display. The result? AAA gaming in a handheld that feels as powerful as it gets, with mind-blowing battery life – all thanks to the cloud.

The Downsides: Bandwidth, Updates, and Latency

But let’s not get too carried away with the positives. GeForce Now isn’t without its flaws, especially when you compare it to owning a physical console. The biggest drawback, as mentioned earlier, is that you need a solid, high-speed internet connection. If you live in an area with unreliable broadband or data caps, it’s not ideal.

Latency, while greatly reduced in recent years, is still present. For most casual gaming, it’s not a huge deal. But for competitive games, even the slightest delay could be the difference between victory and defeat. Packet loss in the EU seems to be a common issue amongst some users, with Nvidia’s ambassadors on reddit being quick to blame client-side variables rather than look for issues within NVIDIA’s traffic routing or EU infrastructure.

And then there’s the issue of game updates. Unlike your local PS5 or Xbox Series X, where game patches are downloaded instantly as soon as they’re available, GeForce Now sometimes lags behind… Significantly. Nvidia has to update the cloud-based version of the game, which isn’t always immediate. If a new patch drops and you’re eager to jump into the latest content, you might find yourself checking your watch while everyone else is already playing.

The Future of Gaming: Is GeForce Now Leading the Way?

Cloud gaming isn’t perfect by any means, but it’s evolving fast. Compared to older offerings such as Onlive and Stadia, cloud gaming has made huge strides.

In 2024,services such as GeForce Now are redefining what cloud gaming is, offering performance that rivals or even exceeds that of traditional gaming consoles. For gamers who want the latest and greatest without investing in a high-end gaming rig, cloud gaming is an exciting alternative.

The question of whether GeForce Now is the future of gaming comes down to what you value as a customer and a gamer. If you prioritise flexibility, scalability, and not having to worry about selling a kidney in order to afford the latest gaming rig, GeForce Now offers a glimpse into what gaming could look like in the next few years. However, if you’re a fan of physical ownership, low latency, and offline play, then consoles (or a traditional high-end gaming PC) are still the best options.

The gaming landscape is shifting. Whether it’s GeForce Now, Xbox Cloud Gaming, or something entirely new, the way we game is changing—and the future might just be in the cloud. Let me know in the comments what your experiences are with cloud gaming and how it compares to your console gaming experiences.