Just a week after Nvidia’s cloud gaming service, GeForce Now, released in open beta, Activision-Blizzard has pulled all of its games.
A staff member for Nvidia announced the change in a forum post. According to the announcement, the removal was “per [Activision-Blizzard’s] request.” Why Activision-Blizzard removed their content remains unknown.
Activision-Blizzard isn’t the first company to limit access to its games on the new cloud streaming service. Rockstar games, such as Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto V, aren’t available on Nvidia GeForce Now due to a rumored exclusivity contract with Google Stadia. Activision-Blizzard games are not available on Google Stadia at the time of writing, but after pulling their games from Nvidia GeForce Now, it’s possible they may show up on the rival platform.
Removing the games will affect more than just Overwatch. Games like Call of Duty and other Activision-Blizzard staples will no longer be available on the cloud streaming service.
The forum post hinted at the potential to work with Activision-Blizzard again in the future to re-enable the games. The post went on to say that there are “over 1,500 games that developers have asked to be on-boarded to the service.”
Nvidia GeForce Now is a cloud gaming service that allows players to play their games on almost any device and computer. Most of the Steam library is accessible. By adding Steam to the list of games and starting it in the service, players can add their games to the service and access them from compatible devices, such as an iMac desktop or an Android phone. One-hour sessions with limited graphics are available for free, and a $5 per month paid tier is available for longer sessions and better streaming graphics.
As Activision-Blizzard’s actions suggest, not all games are available on the service, but more are being added as interest grows.
It’s unknown if Activision-Blizzard will re-add the games to Nvidia GeForce Now, if it plans on dealing exclusively with Google Stadia like Rockstar, or if it has another plan. For now, players will have to stick to other games available on Nvidia GeForce Now.
