You’ll soon have access to a host of PC games in your car without buying a Tesla. NVIDIA has announced that it’s bringing GeForce Now game streaming to cars using the company’s Drive platform. The rollout will offer access to titles like Cyberpunk 2077 on a driver display while you’re charging or parked, or any time from the backseat. That could be more than a little helpful on a vacation, especially if you’d rather not buy a Steam Deck or Switch for a budding young gamer.
The cloud gaming option already has initial support from major brands like the Hyundai group (including Genesis and Kia), Polestar and China’s BYD. NVIDIA didn’t offer a timeframe for GeForce Now access, although it noted that BYD would offer Drive Hyperion-powered cars in the first half of 2023. The Polestar 3 SUV (built using Drive Orin) arrives in late 2023.
The in-car GeForce Now client works on either Android or web-based infotainment systems. NVIDIA’s service provides a catalog of 1,500 games, over 1,000 of which are playable using gamepads. While most of the selection is paid, there are free-to-play options like Destiny 2 and Fortnite.
As with other game streaming services, this could get costly if you plan to use it often. While basic GeForce Now use is free, you can pay up to $200 per year for the full experience before you factor in the cost of the games themselves. In some cases, though, this might make more sense than buying a handheld console or tablet. You only need to pay for a higher-end plan when you expect to use it, after all — you could subscribe during a road trip and stick to free usage when you’re commuting around town.