GeForce NOW FAQs


General Questions

GeForce NOW is NVIDIA’s cloud-based game streaming service, delivering real-time gameplay straight from the cloud to your laptop, desktop, Mac, Chromebook, SHIELD TV, select Samsung and LG TVs, iPhone, iPad, Android devices, Steam Deck, VR headsets, and more. Connect to your store accounts and stream your own library of games, or play your favorite free-to-play games. With cloud saves for supported games, you can pick up your game where you left off, on any supported device, wherever you are.

GeForce NOW is currently available in India in beta. The beta period allows members to get early access to GeForce NOW ahead of our full launch, while we fine tune the overall experience for local players. During this beta period, members can get special early-access priced passes.

GeForce NOW offers two early access pass options including Performance 90-day and Ultimate 90-day with instant access to powerful GeForce RTX gaming experience in the cloud. Each early access pass is valid for 90 days and does not automatically renew. Due to high demand, we are granting early access passes on a first-come, first-serve basis to ensure the best experience for our gamers. Visit our home page to sign up to be notified once an early access slot opens up.

Starting April 16, we’ll begin sending invitations in the order registrations were received. Keep an eye on your inbox and act fast—once your invitation arrives, you’ll have one week to purchase your early access pass before it’s released to the next person in line.

GeForce NOW supports two types of games to give you the widest choice of titles possible.

Over 4,500 Ready-to-Play and Install-to-Play games are available.

Ready-to-Play titles are available to stream instantly and always kept up to date. They’re tested for a seamless experience.

Install-to-Play games are Steam games that have opted-in to Steam Cloud Gaming by the game publisher that can be installed, downloaded and played in the cloud.

Learn more about Install-to-Play, or visit the GeForce NOW games page to see which games are currently available.

Yes, you need to own or purchase a game from one of the supported game stores before playing it on GeForce NOW. The service also supports hundreds of the most popular free-to-play games.

GeForce NOW follows local content-rating agencies. We try to have all supported games available in all countries, but some games are prohibited in some countries. Visit our supported games page to see which titles are available.

You can work with a Customer Care agent here. Our product and support teams are ready to assist when they can. You can also send us feedback by pressing the exclamation icon in-app and share your feedback or discussing your issue with our GeForce NOW Community on our forums.

You can use the Send Feedback tool in the GeForce NOW app to share your feature requests and feedback. Our product and support teams read all feedback submitted, and your input helps drive new features and additions.

Please visit the System Requirements page for info on system requirements, including internet speed.

After creating an NVIDIA account, you may need to take an additional step of selecting a membership type. You can do this either by visiting geforcenow.com and clicking “Join Now”, or by visiting the NVIDIA account portal to select a membership.

Beta Memberships

GeForce NOW offers two early access membership options: a Performance Early Access Pass and an Ultimate Early Access Pass. An early access pass is a fixed-term pass; each pass is valid for 90 days and does not automatically renew.

Both passes offer unlimited playtime for the full 90-day duration. Additionally, you have the option to add persistent storage to your account. You may purchase another early access pass once your current one expires.

Both Performance 90-day and Ultimate 90-day early access passes are limited and may sell out based on current capacity. 

Each member can only hold one early access pass at a time.

Once the 90-day period is over, you have the option to repurchase an early access pass of your choice. The pass will not automatically renew. 

No, you do not need a payment method on file to register for a free membership.

For members purchasing in India, GeForce NOW accepts payments via credit and debit cards from major global and regional networks. This includes support for Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. Credit cards must be issued by an Indian financial institution. Please ensure your card is enabled for international transactions if required. Also, you must have a billing address in India.

GeForce NOW supports credit cards for payments. NVIDIA is the merchant of record for these purchases and is based in the United States. As a result, your bank may identify the charge as an international transaction. For security reasons, some banks block international or recurring digital transactions by default. You may need to enable international transactions or contact your financial institution to authorize charges from “NVIDIA Corporation.”

We recommend keeping international transactions enabled to avoid interruptions. Your payment method may also be charged applicable taxes or additional transaction or foreign exchange fees, depending on your bank or payment provider.

Once purchased, a Performance 90-day pass cannot be upgraded, and an Ultimate 90-day pass cannot be downgraded. Once the 90-day period is up, you will have the option to purchase another early access pass of your choice.

Ultimate Memberships

Ultimate is the highest performance GeForce NOW membership plan, designed for members who want the best cloud gaming experience. Ultimate offers exclusive access to GeForce RTX 4080 gaming rigs, and GeForce RTX 5080 rigs as they roll out globally, the shortest wait times, and the longest session lengths. The Ultimate membership takes cloud gaming to the next level, unlocking the best performance, powering the highest resolutions and frame rates in cloud gaming.

First availability for GeForce RTX 5080 gaming rigs begins September 10, 2025. You can check server status here, or follow along with our rollout here.

Ultimate 6-month memberships have been replaced by new 12-month memberships, giving users a full year of the highest-performance cloud gaming experience.

If you’re currently on a 6-month Ultimate membership, you’ll continue to be billed on a biannual basis, as long as your account remains in good standing. Please note: if you upgrade or downgrade your membership, you will not be able to return to your current 6-month plan.

Gaming rig refers to the streaming rig type and the GeForce RTX equivalent to the server-grade GPU available to each membership.

All Ultimate members get access to GeForce RTX 4080 gaming rigs with 4K and 1440p support at 120 FPS and 1080p support at up to 240 FPS in supported games with NVIDIA Reflex for an ultra-low latency experience. As NVIDIA Blackwell RTX servers roll out, Ultimate members in supported regions will get access to GeForce RTX 5080 gaming rigs, unlocking up to 5K streaming at 120 FPS and 360 FPS at 1080p in competitive gaming mode. The upgrade also expands device support, from 90 FPS on Steam Deck and 120 FPS on Lenovo Legion Go S.

Performance members get GeForce RTX gaming rigs with 1440p support at 60 FPS. Free users get basic rigs that are the standard virtual rigs offered and are optimized for capacity. Their virtual specs and performance can vary based on game and server availability.

Please visit the GeForce NOW Terms of Use & GeForce NOW membership Terms for additional details.

GeForce NOW recommends at least 65Mbps for streaming up to 5120x2180p at 120 fps, 55Mbps for 2560x1440p at 240 FPS for most iMacs or 2560x1600p at 240 FPS for most MacBooks, 48Mbps for 1920x1080 at 360 FPS, 45Mbps for streaming up to 4K at 120 FPS, and 25 Mbps for FHD resolutions at 60 FPS.  And for the new Cinematic Quality Streaming mode, we recommend 100 Mbps for the best quality.

We also recommend a hardwired Ethernet connection, or a 5GHz wireless router. Please visit the System Requirements page for specific device compatibility, hardware recommendations and details on supported regions. 

You can also read this knowledge base article for more details on how to set up your device for your GeForce NOW Ultimate membership.

All Ultimate members on any supported devices have access to GeForce RTX 4080 gaming rigs, and as servers roll out, members in supported regions will also have access to GeForce RTX 5080 gaming rigs, delivering the highest level of performance and lowest latency experience. GeForce NOW Ultimate members also get the longest session lengths and fastest access to these servers.  You can check server status here, and read this knowledge base article for more details on how to set up your device for your GeForce NOW Ultimate membership.

Founders members can upgrade to the GeForce NOW Ultimate membership at no risk! You’ll keep your Founders benefits as long as you remain in good standing on any paid membership plan. Visit the Founders Membership FAQs for more info.

GeForce NOW Ultimate memberships are limited and may sell out based on current capacity.

Gift card and promotion redemptions are temporarily unavailable for GeForce NOW premium members including Founders, Performance and Ultimate and will resume soon.

Yes. Gift cards can be used to purchase either an Ultimate or Performance membership. Gift cards that were purchased for an RTX 3080 membership are valid for the same number of months for an Ultimate membership.

Founders Memberships

Founders members can upgrade to the new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership at no risk! You’ll keep your Founders for Life benefits as long as you remain in good standing on any paid membership plan.

If you are a Founders member looking to upgrade to a 12-month Ultimate membership as part of the limited-time Borderlands 4 launch promotion, please contact NVIDIA Customer Care for assistance.

Please note: In this instance, your Founders for Life benefits will be forfeited upon upgrade to a 12-month Ultimate membership.

The “Founders for Life” benefit provides GeForce NOW users who started a paid Founders membership on or before March 17, 2021 the opportunity to continue to use their Founders membership at its introductory price and plan features without a set end date, so long as NVIDIA offers the GeForce NOW service in your country.

Founders members can upgrade to the new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership with no risk! Enjoy up to a 10% discount on the regular price of the Ultimate membership. You can return to the Founders level and its lifetime price at any time, as long as you maintain continuous paid membership.

To thank Founders, we are offering a special Founders-only discount rate when they upgrade to the new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership. This discount rate is 10% and reflected in the price shown in your account. This offer may not be combined with other promos or discounts.

To keep the “Founders for Life” benefit, you must maintain an ongoing paid Founders membership without interruption. This requirement includes, for example, that you keep your payment information current and make timely payments, and that you use the service in accordance with the terms of use.

If for any reason your paid Founders membership ends, you make a membership plan modification, downgrade, or if there is a termination, the benefit is forfeited and cannot be restarted. This benefit is only available to NVIDIA GeForce NOW users who are billed by NVIDIA’s designated merchant of record in the US, Canada, UK, and members of the European Union. This benefit is not transferable, and cannot be replaced for cash or credit.

Your membership will revert back to Founders as long as you keep your account active with a valid payment method on file.

We have put in place a variety of email communications to help alert Founders to a billing failure in advance of their account being downgraded.  The purpose of providing this benefit is to keep our Founders on the service, so we will do everything on our end to support them with keeping their account in good standing.

When a member downgrades their membership, they may still have an active period before their account is transitioned to Free status, depending on their billing date. You’ll see if you’re in this downgrade window by viewing your information in the GeForce NOW account portal. If you are still within your billing cycle, you can reinstate your Founders membership and retain the Founders For Life benefit.

Free Founders memberships and Founders memberships billed by a GeForce NOW partner do not qualify for this benefit.

To say thank you to the first to join and support GeForce NOW, Founders members will receive a special VIP Founders member badge in their account and in-app. GeForce NOW would not be what it is without our Founders members, and this is one way we’re saying thank you. If you decide to downgrade, change your account or there is a termination, the VIP Founders badge will be removed from your account and in-app.  

The “Founders for Life” benefit provides GeForce NOW users who started a paid Founders membership on or before March 17, 2021 the opportunity to continue to use their Founders membership at its introductory price and plan features without a set end date so long as NVIDIA offers the GeForce NOW service in your country.  

To keep this benefit, you must maintain an on-going paid Founders membership without interruption and that requires, as examples, that you keep your payment information current and make timely payments, and that you use the service in accordance with the terms of use.  

If for any reason your paid Founders membership ends, you make a membership plan modification, downgrade or if there is a termination, the benefit is forfeited and cannot be restarted. This benefit is only available to NVIDIA GeForce NOW users who are billed by NVIDIA’s designated merchant of record in the US, Canada, UK and members of the European Union, is not transferable, and cannot be replaced for cash or credit.

You can view your membership from the app under Settings, under the GeForce NOW membership section. Here you can confirm if your account qualifies for the "Founders for Life" program.

Day Passes

Day Passes offer the full benefits of either Performance and Ultimate memberships for 24 consecutive hours. This includes ad-free gaming sessions, faster access to gaming servers, and access to the higher performance gaming rigs.

Day Passes start immediately upon checkout, and expire after 24 consecutive hours. New members, without a recurring subscription, will revert to a free account once the Day Pass expires.

Day Passes are only available for new free or Performance members – free members can purchase Performance and Ultimate Day Passes, and Performance members can purchase Ultimate Day Passes. Ultimate members with a recurring subscription are not eligible to purchase Day Passes.

Performance members will have their membership paused for the duration of Day Passes purchased. The day pass purchase will be prorated based on the 1-day value of their monthly membership effectively extending their next billing date by that duration.

Yes. Day Passes are offered at the same price for everyone, regardless of their membership status.

Yes, the Day Pass is additive. After the completion of the Day pass duration, you will resume your purchased membership with the Founders for Life benefit applied.

Gift card and promotion redemptions are temporarily unavailable for GeForce NOW premium members including Founders, Performance and Ultimate and will resume soon.

Users cannot redeem a promotion or gift card while on an active Day Pass. Promotions and gift cards can be redeemed once the Day Pass period ends.

Yes. Day Passes can be stacked, and there is no limit to the number of Day Passes that you choose to stack. However, only three Day Passes can be purchased at a single time. If you would like to purchase more than three Day Passes, you will need to complete the purchase as a separate transaction.

While Day Passes can be stacked, they can only be stacked for the same membership tier. Users would need to wait for their current Day Pass to expire before utilizing a Day Pass for a different membership tier.

Yes. The upgrade would go into effect immediately and the value of your day pass purchase will be created to your first monthly billing cycle.

Install-to-Play

The new Install-to-Play feature enables premium members to download and install over 2,000 Steam games opted-in for Steam Cloud Gaming directly onto GeForce NOW cloud storage hard drives, similar to a local gaming PC experience. More will be added each week.

100GB of single session cloud storage will be included with both Ultimate and Performance early access passes Members who want persistent cloud storage to save all game installs and game saves across sessions (for games that don’t support Steam cloud saves) will have the flexibility to add-on an additional 200GB of cloud storage to their early access pass. You can sign up for an early access pass here

You can browse all the Install-to-Play games in the GeForce NOW app by going to the Install-to-Play section and clicking SEE ALL, checking game details for the Install-to-Play label, or by using the filters in the app to see all Install-to-Play games. 

Install-to-Play games are titles you can install and play from your own Steam library, as long as the publisher has opted in to support Steam Cloud Gaming. You manage what you play, and can optionally purchase a storage plan to keep your installed games and saved data in the cloud for games that don’t support Steam cloud saves. More will be added as publishers opt-in their games for Steam Cloud Gaming.

Ready-to-Play games are designed for instant access, and are highlighted each week on GFN Thursday. They are always kept updated, tested for a seamless experience, and NVIDIA manages all the backend work, ensuring the most popular games are readily available. You can jump right into playing them without any installation steps. Ready-to-Play games do not count against your 100 GB storage. 

No. Persistent cloud storage is required to keep your game installed and game save progress for games that don’t support Steam cloud saves. Learn more about storage requirements.

GeForce NOW offers two types of cloud storage for Install-to-Play games:

  • Single-Session Cloud Storage: This type of storage requires the game to be downloaded at the start of each playing session. 100GB of single-session storage is included with Performance and Ultimate early access passes. Some games may require more storage to start the install, or you might still want persistent storage to save your game installation for future gaming. NOTE: Games that support Steam Cloud saves will keep your game save progress for future sessions.
  • Persistent Cloud Storage: 200GB of persistent cloud storage is available as an add-on. This option lets you save your downloaded games after the first install, and your saved game data—if the game does not support Steam Cloud saves—for future sessions. Visit our FAQs to learn more.

All premium members will get 100GB of single-session cloud storage included with their early access pass. 200GB of persistent cloud storage is available as an add-on. This option lets you save your downloaded games after the first install, and your saved game data—if the game does not support Steam Cloud saves—for future sessions.

Add-on storage cannot be canceled and is not refundable. 

Additional add-on storage can be purchased to continue accessing cloud storage if the 90-day early access pass is renewed, however all game data saved previously will not be saved and carried over to the new period

No. Install-to-Play games, and persistent storage, are only available with the Performance and Ultimate early access passes. You need to purchase an early access pass first, and then purchase persistent storage.

When you first purchase an Install-to-Play game, your persistent storage location is set. You can change this later if needed, but keep in mind — changing it will erase all of your saved data for Install-to-Play games.

Also, note that for Install-to-Play titles, the server location setting in the GeForce NOW app won’t apply; these games always run from the storage location you selected. The server location preference still works normally for Ready-to-Play games.

Yes.

PC/MAC

No. All driver and game updates are automatically managed by NVIDIA.

Yes, GeForce NOW supports in-game mic. Now you can voice chat with your friends, or foes, in game during your epic battles. You can use Bluetooth and wired microphones with this feature. If you are using a Bluetooth gaming headset, please read this Knowledgebase article to optimize your gaming audio.

Some games support in-game language changes so that you may be able to play games in your native language. We will add more language support through frequent updates.

Games must be accessed from the digital stores. You will be prompted to log in to verify that you own the game before you can play it on GeForce NOW. You must also accept any license agreements that are part of the normal download and install experience set by the publisher.

First, use the search bar to find the games you own and add them to your GeForce NOW Library. Once added, you can click on the game tile and launch the game on your GeForce NOW gaming rig in the cloud. It will look and feel like you are launching the game on your device, when, in fact, GeForce NOW is launching it remotely and streaming it back to your device. 

See our How to Play page for more information.

Yes, please check our system requirements for a complete list of supported peripherals.

You can download the latest GeForce NOW apps right here.

You can contact our customer care team or browse our support articles

NVIDIA Shield

On the first click of a game tile, you will be taken to the digital store’s game page. Your ownership is verified when you log in, and then the game is launched. For games that require you to log in to your account to begin play, you will need to hold the START button on the gamepad to bring up the virtual mouse and keyboard. If you do not own the game, you can purchase it from the digital store. 

To launch a game, click on its icon in the NVIDIA Games app. Look for the game with a GEFORCE NOW label. It will look and feel like you are launching the game on your device, when, in fact, GeForce NOW is launching it remotely and streaming it back to your SHIELD.

See our How to Play page for more information.

Yes, you can use the SHIELD controller to play games on GeForce NOW, and newer SHIELD models support third-party Bluetooth or USB-wired controllers. Please check our system requirements for a complete list of supported peripherals.

Yes, you can connect a USB or Bluetooth keyboard or mouse to a SHIELD to play games on GeForce NOW. 

We do see this issue with non-US Keyboards and are trying to find a way to improve it. In the meantime, we recommend using US English keyboards, or the NVIDIA on-screen control (OSC) keyboard, or Steam Big Picture keyboard to type in characters such as @. However, if you have a Uplay account with non ASCII characters, you cannot use the NVIDIA OSC keyboard or a US English keyboard. You may need to change your password to log in to Uplay on GeForce NOW. 

Android

We support Android phones with 1GB or more of memory and Android 7.0 or later. Please be aware that by streaming games on your phone’s mobile data plan you may use up data quickly. We recommend a 5GHz WiFi network connection for the best experience.

Yes, your single GeForce NOW account works across your devices, including Android phones.

Once you’ve logged in to your GeForce NOW account on your phone, jump into your library of recently played games and continue playing where you left off. A Bluetooth gamepad is strongly recommended, including: the NVIDIA SHIELD controller, Razer Kishi V2, Steelseries Stratus Duo, or Backbone One. Note: Some games may require a connected gamepad controller or wireless keyboard/mouse. Check out these gamepads and more here.

This is Android's way of indicating that the GeForce NOW app wants access to your phone’s microphone. From here, it enables your in-game voice chat. We do not record this audio.

Chrome Browser / Chromebook

Yes, we support Chrome browsers on Windows and macOS devices.  Visit https://play.geforcenow.com.

We support a number of Chromebooks. The full list of compatible devices is available on the system requirements page. 

Browser

The full list of compatible devices is available on the system requirements page.

iPhone and iPad

Launch Safari and visit https://play.geforcenow.com. Follow the instruction prompt to set up GeForce NOW to play: 

1. Tap the ‘Share’ button on the tool bar. 

2. Select ‘Add to Home Screen’ from the menu. 

3. Launch GeForce NOW from your home screen.

Only games that support full or partial gamepad are playable on iPhones or iPads.  You can only use a keyboard or mouse for navigating game menus or for typing in usernames and passwords.  If you wish to play games that require a keyboard and mouse, please download our app on another device such as Windows, macOS, Android, or Chromebook.

An iPhone with iOS 15.4 or later or an iPad with iPadOS 15.4 or later.  You can find a list of compatible devices on Apple’s website or on our systems requirements.

Please visit our system requirements for a full list of supported gamepads

You can use a keyboard or mouse for navigating game menus only or for typing in usernames and passwords but a gamepad is required for playing games. Keyboard and mouse are not available for gameplay due to limitations in Safari.

No.  At this time please enjoy GeForce NOW on iPhone and iPad by launching Safari and visiting https://play.geforcenow.com. Follow the instruction prompt to set up GeForce NOW to play: 

1. Tap the ‘Share’ button on the tool bar. 

2. Select ‘Add to Home Screen’ from the menu. 

3. Launch GeForce NOW from your home screen.

You can contact our customer care team or browse our support articles