NVIDIA's GeForce NOW is live, but not for Asia Pacific (yet)

GeForce NOW is rolling out in North America and Europe – and although it's yet to land in Asia Pacific, people in this region are already talking about it.

GeForce NOW is a subscription platform that essentially transforms any PC, Mac, Android or SHIELD device into a gaming rig – and it's a subscription platform that doesn't force people into buying games from its own store.

GeForce NOW is an open platform connects to other platforms like Steam, Origin, UPlay, Epic, or whatever other stores that players use to play their games.  And, of course, you can buy games through the GeForce NOW platform itself.

As NVIDIA's Phil Eisler puts it, "you can keep playing the games you already own and continue building libraries from the same stores you already use every day. That's what it means to be an open platform.

"If you buy it, you own it. If you already own it, play it. Your purchases are always yours.

GeForce NOW also has 30 free-to-play games, and that number is growing.

"In total, there are hundreds of games from more than 50 publishers that, once you own, are available for instant play. All these games are patched automatically in the cloud, so your library is always game ready," says Eisler.

So what does NVIDIA mean when it says it can transform devices into a gaming rig? Essentially people who install the platform can access a 'virtual' upgrade to the latest PC graphics, without having to upgrade their hardware or their GPUs.

It doesn't matter if the device is underpowered or incompatible with big games – GeForce NOW claims to fix that problem – and add 60+ FPS gaming action.

"The free membership provides one-hour sessions with standard access to GeForce NOW servers. There's no limit to the number of sessions you can play. All GeForce NOW beta members automatically have had their beta accounts converted to this free plan. Simply sign in and continue gaming.

And for those willing to pay the US$4.99 month fee, gamers get longer sessions of up to six hours, and access to RTX content.

Of course with any cloud service, players will need a fast internet connection (NVIDIA recomments at last 15Mbpsfor 720p resolution and 25Mbps for 1080p resolution at 60fps). Gamers will also be reliant on the NVIDIA servers that power GeForce NOW.

Check out NVIDIA's website to see a list of compatible devices, and to get notified when GeForce NOW finally comes to Asia Pacific.