NVIDIA Unveils Enhanced GeForce NOW Experience at Gamescom 2025

NVIDIA Unveils Major Upgrade to GeForce NOW Ahead of Gamescom 2025

In a significant announcement ahead of Gamescom 2025, NVIDIA has revealed what it describes as the most substantial upgrade to its cloud gaming platform, GeForce NOW. At the core of this enhancement is the new Blackwell architecture, which will underpin the latest GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards.

Enhanced Performance with New Hardware

The Ultimate tier of GeForce NOW will receive a substantial hardware overhaul. It will incorporate RTX 5080-class GPUs—server equivalents to their desktop counterparts—alongside AMD Zen 5 CPUs. This hardware upgrade is expected to deliver an impressive 62 teraflops of compute performance and boast a 48GB frame buffer, resulting in performance improvements of up to 2.8 times when compared to the previous generation. A key contributor to this performance boost is the introduction of NVIDIA DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation.

Introducing Cinematic Quality Streaming (CQS)

A standout feature of the update is the new Cinematic Quality Streaming (CQS) technology. This suite of enhancements introduces crucial additions such as:

YUV 4:4:4 chroma sampling
10-bit HDR
AV1 support with Reference Picture Resampling (RPR)
AI-driven sharpness filters to minimize noise and artifacts
An adaptive DPI setting to ensure optimal resolution

NVIDIA’s Product Marketing Manager, Michael McSorley, emphasized that CQS addresses the previous issue of GeForce NOW failing to detect the correct native resolution for some devices, particularly laptops. As a result, users often experienced a lower-resolution stream that detracted from sharpness and clarity.

Real-World Impact of CQS in Gaming

The visual impact of CQS is particularly noticeable when tested with graphically intense games. For instance, in a direct comparison featuring Game Science’s Black Myth: Wukong, CQS showcased significant improvements in the game’s visuals, rendering finer details like foliage and character features much more crisply compared to non-CQS streaming. This enhancement can particularly shine on larger 4K displays. Notably, apart from the core features, most of CQS enhancements will also be accessible on non-Blackwell servers.

Comparative Performance Against the PlayStation 5 Pro

In a remarkable demonstration, NVIDIA showcased the capabilities of the Blackwell-enhanced GeForce NOW service against the PlayStation 5 Pro using the popular title Cyberpunk 2077. The Ultimate tier effectively supported path tracing at 4K resolution at 120 FPS, a marked improvement over the PlayStation’s lock to 40 FPS in ray tracing mode. This comparison highlighted NVIDIA’s claim of offering superior performance that rivals, and in some metrics exceeds, that of the most powerful consoles available.

Combatting Latency Challenges

Latency remains a notorious hurdle for cloud gaming. NVIDIA has taken strides to enhance this aspect as well, now incorporating Rivermax hardware packet pacing to facilitate efficient data transfers directly to and from the GPU. This development is set to ensure reduced latency while maintaining high throughput rates.

NVIDIA has also collaborated with several internet service providers (ISPs) to integrate the L4S (Low Latency, Low Loss and Scalable Throughput) protocol. Although some providers like Comcast and T-Mobile have adopted L4S, widespread implementation is still required for a truly seamless experience, prompting users to ensure their routers are L4S-compatible.

Local Device Enhancements and Support Expansions

NVIDIA is also expanding its support for a variety of devices. Users can now stream games at:

90 FPS on the Steam Deck app
120 FPS on Lenovo Legion Go S
4K at 120 FPS on LG TVs
5K at 120 FPS on LG OLED monitors
1080P at 360 FPS and 1440P at 240 FPS

The latency recorded during 360 FPS streaming was notably low, with end-to-end latencies under 30 ms, peaking at around 15-17 ms. Although continuous improvements are expected, McSorley mentioned the potential for further reduction in latency through a direct link from the gamepad to GeForce NOW servers, akin to what Stadia implemented.

Looking Ahead

NVIDIA is also broadening its support for racing wheel devices and enhancing accessibility with an additional 2200 Steam games benefiting from the new Install-to-Play feature. Furthermore, a limited-time trial has been introduced, allowing users to stream Fortnite directly via Discord.

As it stands, NVIDIA is positioned as a leading provider of cloud gaming experiences. With these significant upgrades, the gaming experience on GeForce NOW is inching closer to that of traditional local play. The official rollout will begin next month with 20 supported games, and this number is expected to rise swiftly.

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