Cloud Gaming Trial

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If you’re interested in cloud gaming, but you’re unsure about performance or latency, free trials are available for you to try.

Xbox Cloud Gaming is our technology that allows you to play over 100 console games on the devices you already have with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and a compatible controller. As part of your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership, you can enjoy the console games you love, the people you want to play together with, on the devices you already have, all. Cloud gaming on all your devices GeForce NOW instantly transforms nearly any laptop, desktop, Mac, SHIELD TV, Android device, iPhone, or iPad into the PC gaming rig you’ve always dreamed of. Play the most demanding PC games and seamlessly play across your devices. Play the best PC games on the market on any device you choose. No expensive hardware needed. Enjoy the smoothest PC games streaming from the cloud. Top content is ready for you all the time on the cloud gaming platform - no downloads, no updates. With just one subscription, you get access to the best games in one place. Browse our games library.

Paperspace Gaming is the ultimate cloud gaming solution focused on performance and simplicity. So our goal with this exclusive trial is to gather more inputs at scale to test performance and quality of service in a variety of network conditions and on multiple server routing scenarios. While this particular trial will be focused on cloud gaming on PC, we are also working to understand performance across multiple other devices.

A trial is a good way to see if a service fits your particular needs. You can see if the latency between you and their servers is bearable enough for an extended gaming session. You can also see if their list of supported games is what you’re interested in playing.

Many of these free trials do require a credit card, so keep that in mind. Also, these free trials will automatically start billing you after the end of the trial period, so remember to cancel the trial before it expires. Otherwise, you may be met with some surprise charges the following month!

There aren’t many outright free services available, and those that are available are severely restricted, but I’ll list them here too.

1. NVIDIA GeForce NOW

GPU giant NVIDIA offers a cloud gaming service that is free.

Yes, free, as in “free beer”.

After creating an account and signing up, you can connect your Steam account and play your games that are supported on GeForce NOW.

This also includes several free-to-play games like Destiny 2 and Warframe, so you can technically enjoy cloud gaming without paying a cent.

There are a handful of limitations, however. Free users need to wait in a queue before they’re able to connect and load up a game. These wait times can vary depending on peak hour traffic.

Your game session lengths are also restricted to one hour—not bad if you want to hop on for a quick game, but it’s hardly anything when it comes to enjoying your weekend.

Again, you’ll only be able to play games you’ve purchased, as there’s no library of games to choose from.

After the trial

At the time of writing, you have the following options:

The special offer isn’t bad if you’re looking to get 6 months for approximately the price of 5. If you’re into Hyper Scape, then that’s just icing on the cake.

Regardless, $4.99 a month is a pretty solid deal if you want to breathe life into an older PC.

2. PlayStation Now

Sony’s game streaming service PlayStation Now has a trial period, too. It’s only seven days long, but it has the biggest content library available.

There are over 800(!) titles to choose from. There’s a bit of shovelware in the mix, but there are some standout titles in there, from indie to AAA. You can even try a bit of multiplayer during the trial, as a PS Plus subscription isn’t required.

Another plus with this service is that you’re able to instantly play PlayStation exclusive games on your PC—a great deal if you’re not looking to purchase the console any time soon!

All you need is a DUALSHOCK controller and a PSN account to start playing.

The trial period of seven days isn’t too long, but it’s enough to get started, check out the streaming speeds and get a feel for the experience before committing.

Before signing up, check the country list to see if PlayStation Now is supported where you live.

After the trial

If you decide to continue the trial without cancelling, here are your options:

  • $9.99 per month, billed monthly
  • $24.99 for 3 months, billed every 3 months
  • $59.99 for 12 months, billed annually

You get exactly the same features, other than the money you’d save by paying for longer periods.

If you’re looking to only play PlayStation titles, I think this is a solid deal. You won’t have to pay for a console, PS Plus, or individual games. A single game costs as much as a PlayStation Now yearly subscription!

3. Google Stadia

Google Stadia is another major provider with a trial available.

Currently, Google Stadia is offering a one-month free trial of Stadia Pro, their premium subscription service.

With Stadia Pro, you can claim free games each month that last as long as you have your subscription. You’ll also get discounts on certain games in the Stadia store, as well as 4K, HDR, and 5.1 surround sound support.

Google has a well established network infrastructure, with plenty of “points of presence” and a high number of edge server locations. This means there’s a good chance you’ll have a server that’s close to your location and your overall latency will be reduced.

You don’t have to pay anything to sign up to Google Stadia. However, the kicker is that you have to purchase games on their store to play, so you’ll need to fork out money to pay for games from their marketplace before you even start playing.

This trial gives you a taste of how the service performs with the complementary games.

To me, the biggest drawback of the service is the game selection. As of writing, the game offerings from Google Stadia are…negligible, compared to other dedicated stores like PlayStation Now. Here’s hoping that Google can bolster their library as the service grows.

After the trial

Once your month-long trial of Stadia Pro is done, you’ll be charged $9.99 per month, but you can cancel anytime.

4. Cloud Computing + Parsec

Dedicated cloud computing services, like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), have virtual machines that also host GPUs.

Ea Cloud Gaming Trial

One way to have a “free trial” of these services is to get free credit by providing credit card details, and in some cases an email address from an educational institution.

Here are some examples:

Using the free credit, you can spin up a virtual machine with a decent GPU.

After getting the machine started, install Parsec and your games. Then, host a session on Parsec, and play a game powered by Microsoft, Google, or Amazon servers.

Unfortunately, I’ve also read that Microsoft and Google are cracking down on this approach, as their free trials are not allowing the use of GPUs without approval. The Google Cloud Platform free trial details page shows that GPUs are not supported.

It’s a clever idea, but don’t be surprised if either company turns down your request for more powerful virtual hardware.

5. Other options

  • Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, at the time of writing, will offer a beta service that enables you to play Xbox games on your Android phone or tablet over the cloud. Normally it’s $14.99 a month, but right now they’re offering the first month for $1, which is practically nothing. There are over 100 games available for you to try during that first month, after which you’ll be charged the full amount.
  • I’ve seen suggestions of Maximum Settings (based in Canada) offering a free trial, but when I tried looking at their site, their orders page was under maintenance. I recommend joining their Discord server for updates.
  • PlayKey also offers a free trial, but it’s only available for one game (DOOM). It also appears that if you try to play another game during that trial period, you’ll be charged accordingly. The service, as a whole, looks pretty sketchy to me anyway.

Summary

These free trials can help you determine if cloud gaming works for you. As always, don’t forget to cancel your trial if you find that it’s not what you need right now!

If you already have a good gaming PC and a fast internet connection, you can also consider using free software, such as Parsec, Moonlight, or Steam Remote Play.

If you’ve landed on this article, it’s likely you already know how huge cloud gaming is. It’s also very likely you’ll know just how big it is going to become. That’s why you’re looking into what’s on offer and seeing if cloud gaming is something that is right for you. This article will explain 5 cloud gaming services that you can start for free, to help you understand if it’s a venture you’re willing to dive into.

If you have come to this article, but are not quite so sure about cloud gaming or even what it is, we’ll cover some of the key definitions so you can understand what the rest of the article is talking about. So to get started, let’s dive right in.

What is cloud gaming?

We won’t go into an in depth, technical explanation here. Instead you can think of cloud gaming as a new way for people to access their video games. Where once there was a disc, cartridge or download needed to play a game on a console or computer, cloud gaming is a bit different.

Cloud gaming has sometimes been called the ‘Netflix for video games’ which isn’t completely accurate, but helps with this explanation. The video game is no longer stored in a piece of hardware right next to the person playing it. Instead all the processing and technical elements are being computed in a remote location, like a datacenter. The video game is then streamed onto the player’s device.

What are the benefits of cloud gaming?

Cloud gaming removes some of the barriers of entry for a lot of people around the world. There is no longer a requirement to buy expensive equipment to process all the data because it’s done at the data center. Loss of games and progress in games is less of a worry, a broken console or computer doesn’t corrupt the saved data in the datacenter. Games can be played across multiple devices and across multiple locations.

While there are a lot more benefits to cloud gaming, the above paragraph covers some of the most important. So now we’ve briefly covered what cloud gaming is and why it’s so great, let’s continue with our subject.

What do we mean by free?

Free is not always the free we were thinking of. Sometimes there are catches attached or specific requirements needed to use a service that has been called ‘free’. Most of the services we refer to in this article are part of a business’s plan to make a profit and so usually will eventually lead towards a requirement to pay in some form or another.

Xbox

Gaming in the cloud requires a huge amount of data and software that a company has to provide. Running the computers for cloud gaming is not free and so eventually they will ask you to pay, to cover their costs at least. However the businesses below offer free trials to help people understand if cloud gaming is the right choice for them, before having to make a full financial commitment.

As with so many things in life, you should be wary if something sounds too good to be true. So if you come across a cloud gaming service that is completely free and sounds like the answer to your dreams, approach it with caution and do careful research about the company and the amount of access they will have to your data.

5 ‘free’ cloud gaming services

Playstation Now

Playstation Now has been around for a long time in cloud gaming terms. It's very popular and offers access to one of the best catalogues around. Before signing up to the paid subscription service, users are allowed to test the service on a 7 day free trial.

Parsec

Parsec has been around since 2016 and in the last four years has built up a solid catalogue that plays well with no latency problems. The app that Parsec offers is free as the business aims to make a profit by offering premium services.

Playkey.net

Playkey has been around since 2013 and lets anyone with a modern device and an internet connection play their catalogue. People who are new to sign up get a free 20 minute gaming demo.

Microsoft Azure Cloud Games

Microsoft Azure Cloud Games is a platform that developers can build and deploy games onto Microsoft’s global cloud network. You can have 12 months for free on Microsoft Azure Cloud Games, but it comes with a restricted list of features within that time.

Blacknut

Blacknut is a great choice for gamers with family that are looking to get into cloud gaming, with the option for parental controls to be used. There is a free two week trial for the service to be tested.

Steam Link

As one of the biggest names in the PC gaming world, it’s no surprise steam is in the cloud gaming scene. The app is free to download to get access to your steam library.

Cloud gaming is undoubtedly going to get more and more popular as time goes by. The technological innovations that have been happening every year and look to continue into the future means that cloud gaming will only improve in both service and performance. Finding a free trial is a great entry point into this world, which will hopefully improve your gaming experience for years to come.

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