It’s all handled remotely, provided you have a strong enough internet connection to handle the load. It’s not a gaming machine by any stretch of the imagination-but with GeForce Now, the heavy lifting isn’t being done locally. It’s good enough to run some lower-end and indie Mac games natively, but it can’t handle anything big or new. I’m using a mid-2014 13-inch MacBook Pro running macOS Sierra, with a 2.6 Ghz Intel Core i5 processor and 8GB RAM. How do the games actually play? Impressively well, actually. Also, game saves can be synced to the cloud and accessed across multiple devices, in case you have more than one Mac that you might play on.
Patches and driver updates are handled automatically on their side, and you can usually get into a game in about 30 seconds. Furthermore, some of the games on the list are already optimized to deliver the highest-quality experience over the internet, meaning you shouldn’t need to tweak any settings to start playing.
Supported games are already installed on their remote servers, so while the launcher will pull up the PC version of Steam and prompt you to hit the install button, it’ll finish in an instant. Nvidia does ease the process of getting up and running in key ways, however. You’re “installing” to the cloud server, but supported games are already there and ready. Nvidia is just giving you the remote hardware to run the games you already own or have access to, not actually providing games to play.
You’ll actually need to own the games via Steam, Blizzard, or Epic Games’ platforms, while free-to-play games like League of Legends require their own accounts. Take note: GeForce Now isn’t an unlimited, Netflix-like, all-you can play service. Once logged in, you’ll find the list of supported PC games that you can play on your Mac. You’ll need a free Nvidia account to access the service. Right now, it’s freely open to users in North America, as Nvidia has several servers spread around the United States, while European users can request access to the invitation-only test due to fewer EU servers at this point. Head over to the GeForce Now website to download the beta client on your Mac and get started. Overwatch and PUBG on Mac? It’s OK to squeal with joy.