Best Cloud Gaming Services
The world of gaming has evolved massively over the past couple of years. Gone are the days where enthusiasts needed to buy a game disk and stay hooked to their one device every time they wanted to play a game. Today, it’s even possible to use cloud gaming services to get your gaming fix.
There are a number of huge advantages that cloud gaming offers. Perhaps most importantly, gaming on the cloud takes away low-end device restrictions and storage problems, giving everyone a chance to experience games at their full graphical prowess. But there are other advantages as well. Even if you have a high-powered gaming PC, you can use cloud gaming while you’re away from home to play without restrictions.
As with any new technology, there are a number of companies who are trying to take the #1 spot in this new market, so in this article we’ll give you a brief overview of this tech and then we’ll go through the best Cloud Gaming services that are available.
What is Cloud Gaming?
Cloud Gaming enables you to play any game, anywhere, and on any device you want. Essentially, what happens is that you stream the game you’re playing to your device. Your inputs are sent to that PC, and the output signal of that PC is then streamed to your device. This streaming PC is doing all of the computational heavy lifting, so you don’t need a powerful device to play games. All you need for cloud gaming is a device with a display, a fast and stable internet connection, and a good cloud gaming service.
Going for a cloud gaming solution means that you don’t have to worry about upgrading an expensive gaming PC to keep up with the latest graphical demands. There’s also a vast catalogue of games to try out, and you can do so wherever you are in the world.
There are of course also drawbacks to cloud gaming. For one, you need (as mentioned) a fast and stable internet connection. Cloud gaming also uses a lot of data, so if you’re data-capped in your internet contract then this might cause issues. Cloud gaming also happens over the internet, which means your input signals have to be sent to the streaming PC and then the image that’s generated needs to be send back to you. This can lead to input delay, making cloud gaming services less than ideal for competitive games at this point in time.
Best Cloud Gaming Services
Even though the market of cloud gaming services is new and booming, there are plenty of options to choose from. Each option has its own perks and shortcomings. We’ll discuss some of the better cloud gaming services out there to help you make a choice.
Xbox Cloud Gaming
Xbox Cloud Gaming is one of the most prominent game streaming services in the industry. Since it’s backed by a tech giant like Microsoft, Xbox Cloud Gaming is a highly robust and stable service.
It features an extensive list of high-quality games that you can stream, going back all the way to the Xbox 360. You can play on your phone, laptop, smart TV, and even on VR headsets.
Xbox Game Pass is relatively heavy on your wallet though, and if you want to use it as your main way of gaming then the fees can quickly rack up.
The overall service of the Xbox Cloud Gaming service (and Xbox Game Pass in general) is commendable and top-notch though, so if you’re looking to try out the whole cloud gaming thing then this is a good place to start.
NVIDIA GeForce NOW
NVIDIA is a name that every gamer knows well. It’s one of the largest PC-related corporations in the world, and their graphics cards are featured in pretty much every computer built for competitive gaming. The brand has now also become one of the biggest players in the cloud gaming industry with their NVIDIA GeForce NOW service.
This cloud gaming service has one of the best game libraries with more than 1500 games. Moreover, their infrastructure is powerful enough to let their users stream games in 4K.
The service also offers a competent free plan that anyone can go for, so it’s a good one to try out if you want to get your feet wet with cloud gaming before committing your hard-earned cash to it.
One major downside of GeForce NOW is their limited session timings. In the free version, a session lasts for one hour max. Even the Ultimate version does not have an unlimited session timing (it’s capped at 8 hours) so that can be a hurdle for players who like extended sessions.
Shadow PC
Shadow is more than a cloud-based game streaming service. They offer a full Windows PC in the cloud for you to use, where you can install any PC software you might want to use. They also offer enterprise solutions for professionals.
Due to the fact that you basically get your own PC in the cloud, you can play any game that is compatible with Windows PC on Shadow, which means their game library is unlimited and growing every day.
The streaming quality on Shadow is great, and anyone who is familiar with Windows (which would be most people) can get started really easily.
The platform is a little expensive though, especially if you want to get a higher-powered PC. If you want to get a fully remote PC setup, this is definitely a service to consider though.
PlayStation Plus Premium
Being one of the biggest players in the world of gaming, Sony obviously couldn’t stand on the sidelines in the cloud gaming scene. Their PlayStation Plus Premium service is what they’ve come up with.
The best selling point of this game streaming service is the access to a wide range of high-quality games that are limited to PlayStation only, such as Ratchet and Clank. In addition to that, the service also requires low bandwidth and is pretty stable.
It should be noted that the PlayStation Plus Premium cloud streaming service is more focused on PlayStation and that their PC app is not very user-friendly. Also, it has no support for mobile devices.
If you’re looking for the biggest catalog of games, this won’t be it for you, but if you want to play some beloved PlayStation exclusives then you should definitely take a look at PlayStation Plus Premium.
Check out PlayStation Plus Premium
Amazon Luna
Amazon Luna is relatively new and it is developing at a very fast pace, with new features and games being added regularly.
The cloud gaming service is not as popular as the others on this list and isn’t available worldwide at the time of writing. However, it can be your go-to option if you use Amazon Devices such as Amazon Fire tablets and Fire TV.
Amazon’s cloud gaming platform is compatible with a good number of devices, including PCs, Macs, smartphones, and smart TVs. The service is also comparatively budget-friendly.
A few noticeable shortcomings of Amazon Luna are the limited available game options and the requirement of separate subscriptions to access more games.
Boosteroid
If you want high-quality streaming of games that you already own, you can look towards Boosteroid.
Boosteroid partners with well-known tech companies, such as Huawei, Intel, NVIDIA, and more to enhance their quality of service. You can easily play games on high settings (1080p) and 60 FPS with a 15 Mbps connection, but the catalogue of free games to stream is rather small. It is an affordable option for people who own a high-powered gaming rig and a bunch of games who want to keep playing when they’re away from said rig, though.
The overall service of Boosteroid is good but being a browser-based platform, it is more prone to sudden frame drops and lagging.
Conclusion
The above list has the best of the best Cloud Gaming services that are available right now. They all offer different subscription models and catalogues, so which one suits you best will depend on your budget and your own personal needs. This list should have options for everyone though, so if you’re interested in cloud gaming you should now know enough to get started!
