Gaming in the Cloud – What You Should Know

I’m Patrick from the GamesCoin editorial team and I have the best MacBook Pro you could own in 2015. And if you’re into old games, you can definitely play some great titles on it: Borderlands 1 and 2, The Witcher, and even Skyrim and Fallout 3 are absolutely playable on low settings. But when I want to play new games and don’t have my console around while traveling, I don’t get far with the MacBook, though. But there’s a relatively new technology that I’ve been using for some time now: cloud gaming. It turns my veteran Mac into a high-end gaming PC. On one condition.

What is Cloud Gaming?

Cloud gaming is a term used to describe a gaming service that allows gamers to access and play video games via a livestream connection. This allows us to play games without the need for a powerful PC.

With cloud gaming services like GeForce Now, games are hosted and run on powerful servers. A video stream of that game is then compressed and made available to the user over the World Wide Web. The user’s control input is sent to the server, which processes it and sends it back in real time.

GeForce Now

So far, I have only used the GeForce Now service, lured by Cyberpunk 2077 at the time. I was in Portugal and had only my old MacBook with me. When I discovered that Cyberpunk was supported by GeForce Now and I had an excellent internet connection in Portugal, I started the test. Initially I used the free version, which meant that I always had to wait for a few minutes when starting the game, and after an hour I had to quit the game. You can then restart it directly, but then you have to wait a short time. This is better for your health because you keep pausing, but it does eventually disrupt your game flow.

Costs

GeForce Now can currently be used for free. To play for several hours at a time and to reduce waiting times, you’ll need to sign up for a subscription of €9.99 per month. Google’s cloud service (Google Stadia) only offers a trial month and costs €9.99 after that.

Requirements

You need very fast internet. I have already played with 50 Mbit/s facing some stuttering every now and then. It’s best if you are beyond the 100 Mbit/s mark.

Procedure

  1. Check if your favorite games are available on the platform and if your internet connection is fast enough.
  2. Download the client for Mac or Windows and connect it to the launcher (Steam, Epic Games, Uplay). Make sure that your purchased game is installed on one of the launchers.
  3. Open the game on GeForce Now and start the game.

Not all games are available

GeForce Now advertises over 1,000 titles, including the entire Assassins Creed series, but it’s missing many popular and new games. Be sure to check this list first to see if the games you want to play are included.