What you need to know
- NVIDIA GeForce Now officially launches on iOS on November 19.
- To get around the App Store rules, NVIDIA has built a WebRTC client for use in Safari.
- GeForce Now has previously taken to the web on Chromebooks.
Apple's stance on cloud gaming services is now well documented, but where there's a will there's a way and that's true in the case of NVIDIA GeForce Now. Unable to go through the App Store, NVIDIA has instead turned to the browser and built a WebRTC version of its service for iOS users that's launching today.
Instead of downloading an app, iPhone and iPad owners can instead head to the GeForce Now portal in Safari and use paired gamepad to play any of their already owned PC or Mac games from a number of different providers, including Steam, Epic Games and UPlay.
"GeForce NOW transforms underpowered or incompatible hardware into high-performance GeForce gaming rigs.Now, we're bringing the world of PC gaming to iOS devices through Safari. GeForce NOW is streaming on iOS Safari, in beta, starting today. That means more than 5 millionGeForce NOW members can now access the latest experience by launching Safari from iPhone or iPad and visiting play.geforcenow.com."
Memberships for GeForce Now start from no cost, albeit with limitations, but premium memberships are a very reasonable $4.99 a month. NVIDIA isn't offering you any games with your subscription, merely use of one of its high-powered PCs in the cloud, complete with RTX ray tracing capabilities, fast loading and cross-platform support.
Instead, it offers you access to games which you already own through stores like Steam or Epic Games to play on your other devices over the internet.
Epic Games...
That brings me to Fortnite. Fortnite is part of the GeForce Now library which means it will be playable once more on an iPhone or an iPad. But not at launch, because Epic and NVIDIA are working towards a more playable solution for Fortnite involving touch controls.
GeForce Now is available on iOS from November 19.
NVIDIA's cloud game streaming service is one of the best available today, delivering lag-free gaming at 1080p/60fps. The fact that you can access NVIDIA's servers for free makes it an easy sell, and the $4.99 plan makes it an immediately enticing option for seasoned gamers.
