Nvidia Plans Native GeForce Now App for Steam Deck

Valve has never confirmed how many Steam Decks it has sold, but interest is high enough that almost every PC manufacturer has created a competing handheld. Most of the competition, like the ROG Ally and MSI Claw, runs on Windows, which offers an expanded selection of software. Nvidia will help to close the gap, though. Soon, the Steam Deck will have an official native app for Nvidia’s GeForce Now streaming service, bringing more games and higher-quality visuals to Valve’s handheld.
At present, the Steam Deck has limited beta support for GeForce Now in the browser. You need to use an Nvidia-provided script to install Chrome and configure it in gaming mode on the handheld. It can be buggy and the quality isn’t ideal, but it works. The move to a native app should make things much easier on gamers.
The Steam Deck runs on the Linux-based Steam OS, meaning gamers must get their content from Steam. That’s fine most of the time, as Steam is by far the largest and most beloved game distribution platform, but it’s not the only one. Nvidia’s cloud streaming service supports Steam content but also adds Epic Games and Ubisoft. If you own content in those stores, GeForce Now will let you enjoy it on the Steam Deck.
Cloud gaming adds latency and video compression that pales in comparison with rendering a game locally with a powerful GPU. The Steam Deck doesn’t have that, though. The Deck’s AMD Custom APU has a capable integrated GPU for something of its size, but you have to lower the settings to make most newer games playable. GeForce Now renders games on powerful RTX-powered machines and streams the video to your device. So, GeForce Now will let you play high-end games on the Steam Deck with all the eye candy turned on. The added latency could be a good trade off for playing games you otherwise wouldn’t have on the Deck.
Nvidia hasn’t specified a timeline for the app, saying only that it’s “coming soon.” Installing the native app will get Steam Deck gamers all the same features as GeForce Now users on other platforms, including 4K resolution and 60fps streams. However, you still need to pay for access to that and other premium features. The free version of GeForce Now has long wait times for a virtual machine and limits on quality. Paid memberships cost up to $20 per month if you want 4K, DLSS 3, and other premium features. You also need to own games on your connected platforms, making this a spendy way to boost game quality on Valve’s handheld.
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