author: Tom Borys
Stadia and GeForce NOW May Save Cyberpunk 2077 Players With Weak Hardware
You're worried your hardware won't be able to handle Cyberpunk 2077? Google Stadia and GeForce NOW are here to help.
Although the published system requirements of Cyberpunk 2077 allayed some of the community's fears and turned out to be not very exorbitant (for a game of this class), there will certainly be a large group of gamers who will resign from buying the game, either because of the lack of even basic required hardware or the understandable reluctance to play such a rich game at minimum settings. They may find rescue with Google Stadia and GeForce NOW, i.e. cloud gaming.
Google Stadia to the rescue
Contrary to the standard requirements of a game, such as CPU, GPU or disk space, Google Stadia only needs a fast (and stable) internet connection. All we have to do is go to Stadia's website, log in to our Google account, open the Shop, purchase the game of our choice and the image will immediately be streamed to our screen. Its quality and response time depends of course on our connection speed.
The creators of the platform encourage us to try it out for free - every new user will get free access to Destiny 2 and Super Bomberman R. On the platform we can also buy Cyberpunk 2077 - and play it without waiting to download a huge amount of data.
It's worth writing a few words about Stadia Pro, a premium subscription to Google Stadia. Its cost is $9.99 per month, with the first month free of charge (after entering our credit card data). We emphasize: the subscription is NOT required to stream games owned on the platform. What makes it possible? Streaming in 4K quality, bigger discounts on selected games, and - like PS Plus and Xbox Live Gold - free games. With the latter, it looks quite encouraging - currently the offer includes Hitman 2 and Sniper Elite 4.
We can connect our PlayStation or Xbox controller via Bluetooth or USB cable to Google Stadia. The service can now be run on PC with Google Chrome, Chromecast Ultra TVs and compatible Android smartphones if we download the Stadia app.
GeForce NOW is also an alternative
If we don't trust the new Google service, an interesting alternative is GeForce NOW from Nvidia, which works a bit differently - we must first have the game in the library of some digital store and then stream it.
While Google Stadia is a streaming service and a digital store in one (this means that when we buy a game in the Stadia store, we will only have it in this version), GeForce NOW does not take away the ability to play offline on our own device. Currently, Nvidia's service is combined with some of the games available on Steam, Uplay, GOG, and Epic Games Store (full list is available here), and if we have a supported game in one of these stores, we can stream it through GeForce NOW.
What does the price list look like? The restrictions here are based on the length of the session we can play:
- The free offer includes "Standard Access" and a maximum of one hour of play without interruption. Later on, we will have to wait in line until there is enough room on the servers.
- For $4.99 per month, we will receive the "Founders" pack - priority access, which in practice will enable us to play sessions of any length. Here Nvidia informs that the offer is limited in time, so we can expect a price increase. If we decide to pay $24.99 in advance, we will receive the sixth month free of charge.
- It's worth mentioning that only the paid subscription supports ray-tracing, which is Nvidia's advanced lighting technology, used by many games, including Cyberpunk 2077.
Google Stadia or GeForce NOW - which service to choose?
If you are wondering what will be a better choice for you, think about what you care about more. Google Stadia has the advantage that the free version does not in any way limit the time you have to access your games. GeForce NOW requires a "Founders" pack to be purchased for the luxury of multi-hour long sessions. However, a great advantage of GeForce NOW is the ability to continue playing the "traditional way". When it comes to gameplay quality, Google Stadia requires the Pro version for 4K video and 5.1 surround sound. GeForce NOW's free version doesn't support ray tracing.
Cyberpunk 2077 is available in both services. The list of games supported by GeForce NOW now includes Steam and GOG versions. However, Nvidia has confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 purchased from Epic Games Store will also be supported.
The choice is therefore up to you. Are you going to use streaming? Or maybe this concept doesn't seem convincing to you at all? Tell us in the comments.
