Nvidia’s cloud gaming service, GeForce Now, now supports 120fps game streaming across all Android phones with high refresh rate displays, rather than being limited to specific preapproved models. The rollout was announced last month, 9to5Google reported at the time, but Nvidia spokesperson Stephenie Ngo confirmed to The Verge that it’s officially rolling out this week.
Support for 120fps gaming should result in games that look smoother and feel much more responsive compared to the 60fps cap that was previously in place for many devices. 120fps streaming has previously been available on a limited selection of Android handsets from Samsung, Google, OnePlus, Xiaomi, and Asus, but now it’s available on any Android handset with the correctly specced display. You’ll need to pay for Nvidia’s top-specced RTX 3080 tier for access to this maximum refresh rate, which costs $20 a month. The $10 / month Priority tier maxes out at 60fps.
GeForce Now is Nvidia’s take on cloud gaming and lets you play a selection of games purchased via Steam, the Epic Games Store, and Ubisoft Connect / Uplay on Nvidia’s servers and stream them over the internet. Games can be played on a variety of platforms beyond Android, including iOS, Windows, Mac, select LG TVs, and the Nvidia Shield TV set-top box. Exact streaming specs, including available resolutions, vary between devices.
Given that the main advantage of cloud gaming is being able to play games from anywhere regardless of your device, it’s unfortunate that, in the past, the highest-quality streaming options have been limited by hardware. But with 4K streaming no longer exclusive to Nvidia’s own hardware after coming to Mac and Windows in May and with 120fps gaming now widely available on Android, the full promise of Nvidia’s cloud gaming is slowly becoming a reality.
Unfortunately, there’s no sign of 120fps streaming coming to iPhone anytime soon. Apple’s restrictive App Store policies mean Nvidia has to stream via a web app on iOS, which, if I had to guess, likely makes development on the platform more challenging compared to others where Nvidia is able to offer native clients.
As well as announcing the widespread rollout of 120fps gaming support on Android, Nvidia is also offering a new in-game reward for Fortnite players who play the game via its cloud gaming service over the next couple of weeks (until August 4th). The “Dish-stroyer Pickaxe” will be given to GeForce Now members who play during this period and will arrive on August 11th.