NVIDIA to cancel GameStream service, forcing users to use Steam or the company’s proprietary cloud service for continued gaming
Users were emailed recently from NVIDIA, stating that beginning February 2023, NVIDIA will discontinue support for GameStream, which will alter the NVIDIA Games application and sever the capability of streaming games from a local computer. The NVIDIA Games app uses GeForce RTX and GTX models to wirelessly stream games to NVIDIA Shield TV and Shield TV Pro products at 4K resolutions with 60 frames per second on the lowest latency. NVIDIA recommends users use Steam Link through the company’s GeForce NOW software, which would require a user to use Steam for their games (if they are not already) or pay for the GeForce NOW cloud gaming service to get their games. Redditor users are recommending a few different alternatives to NVIDIA’s services, two applications called Sunshine and Moonlight. The removal of GameStream from the Set-Top Shield TV series products is unclear for current users and how it would affect functionality. NVIDIA has yet to remove the advertising for NVIDIA GameStream on its website, which could confuse new users unaware of the changes. AMD offers a similar service to NVIDIA called AMD Link, which the company fully supports and just recently announced the expansion of its proprietary streaming service. The company’s service uses the AV1 RX 7900 encoder, allowing up to four players on a single gaming computer. NVIDIA GeForce NOW has three options for membership, ranging from free to as high as $19.99 per month or $99.99 for six months. Users who choose the highest tier will gain access to a cloud PC with a GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card and RTX activated, eight hours of use at 4K resolutions, and up to 120 frames per second. News Sources: VideoCardz, NVIDIA, Reddit
