GeForce NOW will now show 'up to two minutes' of ads to free-tier users while they wait to play

NVIDIA's GeForce NOW cloud gaming service allows users and PC gamers to stream and play over 1800 titles they own (plus free-to-play games) across a broad range of services. Paying GeForce Now Ultimate subscribers get access to a cloud-based GeForce RTX 4080 rig with priority access and even support for G-SYNC. Today's news, however, concerns GeForce NOW's free tier, which provides access to a 'Basic Rig' and one-hour sessions.

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NVIDIA has informed free-tier users that as of March 5, 2024, they will begin showing up to two minutes of ads (or 'video sponsorship messaging') before each one-hour gaming session. The new ads will help pay for the free tier, with NVIDIA claiming that the change will "reduce average wait times for free users over time," though it's unclear how.

The change doesn't affect paying GeForce NOW customers, who get access to more powerful GeForce RTX hardware and longer gaming sessions. The 'Priority' tier offers up to 1080p 60 FPS gaming, while the 'Ultimate' tier offers up to 4K 120 FPS gaming on an RTX 4080 rig.

GeForce NOW is considered one of the best cloud gaming platforms for latency, image fidelity, and stability. This year, it's celebrating its fourth anniversary, where, in recent months, it has seen its library grow to include games from Activision Blizzard and Microsoft, including Halo Infinite, Diablo 4, Overwatch 2, Starfield, and Forza Motorsport.

Adding ads isn't a strange move for a free service, with the good news being that the change won't affect paying customers. With the service's game support exploding in 2023 and GeForce NOW expanding its global presence, the assumption is that GeForce NOW has seen an influx of new users, and this is NVIDIA simply looking to mitigate the associated infrastructure costs.