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NVIDIA gears up for summer with GeForce NOW Steam Deck support

NVIDIA GeForce NOW cloud gaming platform graphic.

NVIDIA GeForce NOW’s claim to fame is its ability to let just about any computing device — a phone, Chromebook, or a smart TV — tap into its cloud gaming hardware to play the latest games with supreme performance. And since the service taps into libraries of games that players already own, there are no extra purchases. 

With school about to end for the summer and plenty of extra time to game, NVIDIA has an exciting update in store for GeForce NOW. NVIDIA has acknowledged the prevalence of handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally, both excellent ways to tap into games on the go. However, these portables are making the most of integrated graphics, which conserves power and avoids heat, but there’s still plenty of uplift available through the use of more powerful hardware, which can better deliver the top-notch graphics, high resolutions, and smooth frame rates that gamers crave. So NVIDIA is giving them a helping hand. And since all the heavy lifting for GeForce NOW is done in the cloud, the handheld consoles get to relax, so you’ll still get great battery life.

GeForce NOW is geared up for easy use with the Steam Deck thanks to a new browser configuration. A quick beta installation brings a pre-configured Google Chrome installation to the Steam Deck, offering special settings that let players get up and running with GeForce NOW in the browser with ease. This setup allows the browser version of GeForce NOW to run in the Steam Deck’s Gaming Mode, allowing for simple navigation with the built-in gamepad. Beyond that, it also provides access to advanced graphics settings like DLSS and RTX real-time ray-tracing to substantially upgrade visuals. And this update isn’t just for the Steam Deck. It also allows for convenient navigation with the ASUS ROG ally, Logitech G Cloud, Lenovo Legion Go, MSI Claw, and Razer Edge.

With GeForce NOW, these portable handhelds can get a big boost from powerful computers in the cloud. You’ll be able to enjoy advanced graphics features like RTX real-time ray tracing and DLSS to enhance your game visuals. GeForce NOW supports high resolutions and frame rates up to 240 fps, letting you max out the gaming handhelds. 

When you’re not on the move, it’s easy to pick up where you left off with GeForce NOW, since you can also run it on other devices. You can switch to a PC, Mac, NVIDIA SHIELD TV, or any of the many devices that support GeForce NOW.

For the Steam Deck, GeForce NOW also allows you to tap into other game libraries outside of Steam, such as Epic Games, GOG.com, Ubisoft Connect, and Xbox. You can even run PC Game Pass games through GeForce NOW on the Steam Deck. This is a big flexibility upgrade. With access to over 1,900 games and counting and no need to install each, storage on these small handhelds becomes a non-issue when you want to try a new game, and so does the handhelds’ ability to actually run the games on their own hardware. So when the next big game comes along or a hot new indie, you can jump right in. GeForce NOW will let you step aboard Honkai: Star Rail, blast through the wasteland in the Fallout series, explore other realms in Baldur’s Gate 3, tackle darkness in Alan Wake 2, and dig through your game backlog.

GeForce NOW’s list of supported games is constantly expanding, and NVIDIA is regularly adding new features. To stay up to speed with all the latest from GeForce NOW, you can tune into the weekly GFN Thursdays blog, which covers all the new games coming, feature updates, game sales, and plenty more.  

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