Nvidia Expands GeForce Now with Game Demos
Nvidia’s GeForce Now is set to receive a significant upgrade, coinciding with an ambitious new initiative. The company has collaborated with Discord and Epic Games to launch an early test of instant game demos on Discord servers, allowing users to try out games without prior purchases, downloads, or account sign-ups, reports 24brussels.
This new functionality will be demonstrated at Gamescom, where users will be able to play Fortnite instantly from Discord. “You can simply click a button that says ‘try a game’ and then connect your Epic Games account and immediately jump in and join the action, and you’ll be playing Fortnite in seconds without any downloads or installs,” stated Nvidia’s product marketing director, Andrew Fear.
This approach echoes past concepts, notably the original vision for Gaikai, a pioneering cloud gaming service. Various attempts have been made by other platforms, including Google’s Stadia, to implement similar features over the years. However, Nvidia’s current offering remains limited to a 30-minute free trial and requires an Epic Games account to access the demo.
The potential for this feature to extend beyond Gamescom is unclear, as Nvidia currently refers to it as a “technology announcement” rather than a confirmed launch. The hope is that game publishers and developers will consider integrating this demo capability into their own offerings.
Historically, similar concepts have struggled to gain traction. After Sony acquired Gaikai in 2012, it indicated plans to provide instant game demos on the PlayStation 4, which ultimately did not materialize. Insights from Gaikai’s founder suggested that publisher interest in such models was limited.
This latest development in cloud gaming dynamics represents both an innovation and a challenge. With the gaming landscape evolving rapidly, the success of instant demos may hinge on broader industry acceptance and publisher participation.
