NVIDIA rolls out GRID game streaming service

NVIDIA is launching a game streaming service called GRID, dubbing it the "Netflix of games." AAA titles will be available to stream at 1080p60 with the highest quality settings enabled, while the default option for streaming games is 720p at 30fps. Low-latency is one of the major features highlighted by NVIDIA, with CEO Jen-Hsun Huang stating that you'll be able to start playing in just 150ms after clicking on the remote play option, or as he called it, "in half the blink of an eye."

There will be two tiers of subscription, a basic subscription and a premium tier that allows you to buy and play games in less than a minute. AAA titles such as Batman: Arkham Knight, The Witcher 3 and Resident Evil: Revelations 2 will be made available at the same time as they launch on other platforms, although as you won't have to download the games in their entirety on your local drive, you can start gaming immediately.

Games such as Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and Resident Evil: Revelations 2 were demoed on stage running on the GRID service at 1080p 60fps. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was also showcased, and the level of detail you get with GRID is incredible, especially considering that the game is being hosted in a data center hundreds of miles away.

And if all that wasn't enough, NVIDIA showcased a real-time animated demo based on Unreal Engine 4 called The Infiltrator. Epic Games showcased the demo during GDC 2013 on a $3,000 custom-built gaming PC, and this time around NVIDIA managed to stream it from the cloud using GRID.

The GRID game streaming service will debut in May alongside the SHIELD game console. NVIDIA is aiming to offer over 100 high-quality titles in the GRID Store by the end of the year. To view the full list of games that will be available on the service, head [here]9http://shield.nvidia.com/games/grid).

Harish Jonnalagadda
Senior Editor - Asia

Harish Jonnalagadda is a Senior Editor overseeing Asia at Android Central. He leads the site's coverage of Chinese phone brands, contributing to reviews, features, and buying guides. He also writes about storage servers, audio products, and the semiconductor industry. Contact him on Twitter at @chunkynerd.