Nvidia’s Game Streaming Service Launch for $7.99/month

Nvidia's game streaming service has a new name — and a price. The service, previously called Grid, was available as a free beta to Shield TV users, but starting October 1st the full version will launch with a new monthly subscription fee. Rebranded as Geforce Now, the streaming service will cost $7.99 per month, though the first three months will be free. Geforce Now will be available on the company's Shield devices, including the new Android-powered Shield TV set-top box.

Like many streaming services, Nvidia describes Geforce Now as "the Netflix for games," though at launch the library leaves quite a bit to be desired, with just over 50 titles available for streaming. In addition to that, however, users will also be able to buy some big, relatively recent games, like the fantasy epic The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Game streaming is available at up to 1080p and 60 frames per second. In addition to games, Nvidia is also hoping to turn the Shield into more of a general entertainment device; today it announced the launch of Spotify, Showtime, and NFL Sunday Ticket apps.

As part of the announcement Nvidia also revealed that the Shield TV will be making its debut in Europe tomorrow, with a launch in France, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Geforce Now grows an increasingly crowded space for game streaming. Most recently Gamefly launched its own service, while Sony has PlayStation Now, which lets users stream PS3 games for $19.99 a month. Both services have slowly been expanding availability to new hardware; both PlayStation Now and Gamefly are available on Samsung smart TVs, for example.

Note - *GeForce NOW is free for the first 3 months per SHIELD device. Requires credit card registration on a SHIELD. Limited time offer.