NVIDIA's GeForce NOW Fast Pass lets Chromebook users skip the line and game for longer

What you need to know

• Google has announced a partnership with NVIDIA to make game streaming more accessible.
• GeForce NOW Fast Pass is a new subscription that is being made available "exclusively" for Chromebook owners.
• To celebrate, if you buy a Chromebook starting today (Nov. 20), GeForce NOW Fast Pass will be included "for one year."

Gaming is more popular than ever before, a trend that continues to rise thanks to the barrage of excellent games being released. This is also true of Chromebooks, and Google has announced a new partnership with NVIDIA, introducing GeForce NOW Fast Pass.

With this announcement, Google states that "GeForce NOW Fast Pass allows users to stream over 2000 PC games directly to their Chromebooks." Since GeForce NOW was already available for Chromebooks, you might be wondering what the big deal is.

Well, if you're an existing Free Tier subscriber, you'll likely find yourself stuck waiting for ads before actually being able to jump into a game. Fast Pass "eliminates ads, so you can just fire up your Chromebook, connect a controller, and start playing.

There are some limitations, as it seems that Fast Pass isn't an alternative to the Performance or Ultimate GeForce NOW subscriptions. Instead, it can be seen as more of a supplement, as you're limited to "10 hours of gaming per month, with up to five unused hours rolling over." For comparison, both Performance and Ultimate allow for up to 100 hours of monthly playtime, along with an abundance of additional features.

Google also confirmed that anyone who buys a Chromebook starting today (November 20) will get GeForce NOW Fast Pass for free, for one year. This comes at the perfect time, as many Black Friday Chromebook deals are already live, meaning that you'll get yet another perk when picking one up.

While some Chromebooks are capable of enjoying Steam games, it's not exactly a viable option for many. Storage limitations are just one reason why, and that's provided that you're able to even get more than a game or two running. And while there are a bunch of fantastic games available on the Play Store, it's not quite the same as playing a new AAA title.

Thankfully, cloud gaming solutions such as GeForce NOW, Xbox Game Pass, and Amazon Luna help to fill the gaps. Of the bunch, GeForce NOW is a favorite among many, as it connects to various game libraries, letting you stream many of the games you already own.

One can't help but wonder what the cloud gaming landscape would look like if Stadia were still around.