There is a new video game streaming service in the region, and it will let you play proper video games from your browser.
As an added benefit, it will also let you play Fortnite from an Apple product.
GeForce now is similar to streaming services such as Google Stadia, PlayStation Now and Amazon Gaming. It does away with the need to have a powerful PC or a next-generation console.
The best news is: it’s free (almost).
GeForce Now has a free-to-play mode that lets you enjoy whatever games are currently sat in your games library on PC over browser. That means if you currently have Counter-Strike or Fortnite on your machine at home, you will be able to play it via GeForce Now.
The way it works is by streaming across servers that are placed all around the world. For performance reasons, it works with the server that is the closest to you – which is brings us to the bad news: to maximize performance Nvidia only wants GeForce Now users to stream from a server in their region, and there are currently none here in the Middle East.
That means when you visit the GeForce Now website, users in Saudi Arabia get an error that says, “GeForce Now is currently not supported in your region”.
That is more or less easy to get around, depending on what you feel about VPN and DNS services (which we must remind you might be illegal where you are reading this from). If you don’t have one of those, you won’t be able to get access to GeForce Now.
Fortunately, there is a button on the website that lets you be notified when the service is available in the UAE.
We have reached out to Nvidia and the GeForce Now team for some clarity on when the service will be available here in the UAE.
For context, streaming services are always late to the Middle East region. Rival gaming streaming platforms are still yet to arrive on our sandy shores, and many video games lack regional servers (Valorant developer Riot Games only flicked the switch on their servers last month).
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