Nvidia GeForce Now is generally the best option for most users in the U.S. right now, although there’s definitely a case for Xbox Cloud Gaming vikingtoto and Boosteroid, too. Cloud gaming on PC is a game-changer for those who don’t want to constantly upgrade their hardware. You can play the latest titles without worrying about performance issues or expensive components. With so many services available, finding the best one can be tricky. Some offer vast game libraries, while others focus on performance or unique features. GeForce Now worked with just about every PC game available originally, but publishers were quick to remedy that.

A big downer of cloud gaming for a lot of gamers is input delay. Remember when we said that your game commands need to be sent to a server? Those tend to be susceptible to the physics at play when data travels through the internet. It’s a near-unavoidable bane that can put you at a disadvantage when playing twitch reaction games like shooters and fighting games. This point is somewhat mitigated by the fact that the cloud gaming servers are usually very well connected with the game servers, meaning that you often have a single-digit ping in game. Still, your combined ping between you, the cloud gaming server and the game server will usually be at least a little bit higher than when connecting directly.

Play Together Across Devices

You can play your existing library of games on Steam, Origin, and other digital delivery platforms on one of GeForce NOW’s impressive rigs after waiting in a short queue. Once you start playing a game, it is streamed to your device — so the only real constraint you’ll have is your internet speed. Instead, the games are streamed to you over the internet, much like a movie is on Netflix. A fast broadband internet connection is required; the faster, the better. The platform allows streaming of PS5 games at different resolutions, including 4K, 1440p, 1080p, and 720p, to suit various internet speeds.

The platform works across multiple devices, making it easy to play your favorite retro games wherever you prefer. Recent reviews have placed it among the top game streaming services for 2025. For $19.99 to $22.99/month, you get access to over 500 games, including day-one Xbox exclusives, EA Play titles, and cloud streaming to mobile, tablet, PC, and smart TVs. It’s now available natively on Samsung and LG smart TVs—no console required. Personally, I would be without my music, photos, passwords, and games; in short, I’d be fucked. That’s because these days the cloud is more than a storage space for digital data.

Thought On “18 Best Free Cloud Gaming Apps”

If you want to start from absolute zero and have access to a momentous library of games streamed to any device that supports the Windows PC app. From PCs to phones to Smart TVs, and now including VR headsets, a Game Pass Ultimate subscription is about so much more than the Xbox. It’s about playing games literally wherever you go on whatever device you have on you. When it comes to that vision of cloud gaming, Xbox is the currently the closest to delivering. Rather than offering you a ready-made library, GeForce Now lets you stream PC games that you already own on Steam, GOG, the Epic Games Store and Ubisoft Connect. You can’t play every single game on those platforms, but you can play more than 1,500 of them, which beats most of the competition by a wide margin.

How Does Cloud Gaming Performance Compare Across Different Platforms?

Additionally, this means you can easily take whatever game you want on the go. Your mobile phone no longer shackles you to low-quality money-grubbing tap-athon games. Fancy playing some Assassin’s Creed Valhalla during your lunch break? As with all cutting edge tech, cloud gaming comes with its share of pros and cons. When considering these services as an option, you need to weigh them alongside your personal gaming tastes and habits.

Then again, GeForce Now is an excellent option if you have access to a strong Steam or Epic Games Store library. And then you could look at something like Shadow, which allows you access to a fully working PC to effectively use how you wish (though still under a fair number of constraints). Users can game at different resolutions, ranging from 720p to 4K, with frame rates reaching up to 120fps in most titles. As long as you have a high-bandwidth connection and the money to spend, you can get great gaming performance from GeForce Now. That’s changing now that Apple has started working with game makers to get their games running well on Mac chips.

Cloud gaming has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years and the prospect of gaming anywhere on any system devoid of the hassles of updates and patches makes for a really appealing service. Sony’s cloud gaming tier, included with PlayStation Plus Premium, allows users to stream PS4 and select PS5 titles to their devices without downloading. On macOS and Safari, we played God of War and Ghost of Tsushima without major hiccups. Latency was acceptable, and controller input felt tight, especially using a DualSense via Bluetooth.