Nvidia showcases GeForce Now servers in India, full launch of cloud gaming service expected soon | Technology News
Following months of wait, Nvidia has shared fresh details on the debut of its cloud gaming service, GeForce Now, in India, signalling that the service will roll out in a beta phase ahead of a broader launch in the coming days.
GeForce Now in India will be powered by Nvidia’s RTX 5080 Super Pods built on the latest Blackwell architecture, allowing users to play demanding games on almost any device by streaming them from the cloud. According to Nvidia, GeForce Now rests on three key pillars: partnerships with publishers to support thousands of games, deploying GeForce technologies on the cloud rather than relying on local hardware, and enabling users to turn virtually any device into a GeForce RTX-powered gaming rig.
The US chip giant said that the service will provide access to more than 4,000 games, including ready-to-play titles and a new install-to-play feature that essentially lets users install certain games directly from the cloud. While users can sign up for a free GeForce Now account, most premium features are reserved for paid subscriptions. Nvidia has not yet announced the exact launch date of its service in India or details of its subscription pricing.
The announcement that Nvidia’s low latency cloud gaming service is coming to India was first made at CES 2025, with a rollout expected in November last year. However, the launch was pushed to the first quarter of 2026 due to the setting up of dedicated GeForce RTX servers in India, as per reports.
“India is a very important market for us and has been for quite some time. But I know that there seem to be certain entry barriers to PC gaming in India. The cost of PC gaming is high, but it’s a country that has a lot of growth potential in the PC gaming market. So, by launching a service like GeForce Now, we are looking to broaden access and make it easier for people to give PC gaming a try,” John Gillooly, senior technical marketing manager, APAC South, Nvidia, told The Indian Express.
John Gillooly, senior technical marketing manager, APAC South, Nvidia. (Image: Nvidia)
Gillooly was speaking on the sidelines of an exclusive media preview of the cloud gaming service held in Mumbai on Friday, February 6, to showcase GeForce Now’s high frame rate and low latency streaming.
The launch of GeForce Now in India also comes amid a deepening global shortage of memory chips caused by the AI boom. The Information reported last week that Nvidia has delayed its plans to launch a new gaming graphics card for the first time in over 30 years. However, Gillooly declined to comment on the report, including the potential impact of the memory chip shortage on the gaming industry.
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Nvidia confirmed that its GeForce RTX-powered data centres are located in Mumbai. (Image: Nvidia)
Stating that it was the best time to launch GeForce Now in India, Pawan Awasthi, Consumer Marketing head at Nvidia, said, “While growth in the broader consumer PC market has remained muted, the gaming PC segment has seen encouraging growth over the past few years in India and globally. Industry data from Steam also shows a sharp increase in its user base in India, alongside improvements in network infrastructure, including average download speeds of around 50 Mbps.”
These trends make it an opportune time to launch GeForce Now, enabling 4K, 60fps cloud gaming experiences, Awasthi added.
Cloud gaming in India
Nvidia’s GeForce Now launch comes days after Microsoft announced that it is expanding its Xbox cloud gaming service to India. It allows any player with a compatible Bluetooth-enabled wireless controller, a high-speed internet connection, and an Xbox Game Pass subscription to play titles such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Detective Dotson, via the cloud gaming service. Monthly plans for Xbox Game Pass start at Rs 499.
Gaming experience on iPhone 13 via GeForce Now. (Image: Nvidia)
Unlike console-based experiences, cloud gaming services such as GeForce Now and Xbox cloud gaming can connect to a user’s Steam, Epic or Battle.net account so that they can play games purchased on those third-party platforms. Since these games are streamed to their devices over the internet, players need to be near a data centre as low latency is critical.
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Nvidia confirmed that its GeForce RTX-powered data centres are located in Mumbai.
