Nvidia announces hourly caps for GeForce Now and users aren't happy
Nvidia has announced that it will cap monthly playtime on its game streaming service, GeForce Now. It has renamed its Priority membership plan to Performance with 1440p streaming at $9.99 (€9.26 or £7.71) per month. The Ultimate plan allows you to stream up to 4K for $19.99 (€18.53 or £15.42) per month.
The most egregious change, however, is the introduction of monthly playtime caps that will limit Performance plan users to just 6 hours per session, and Ultimate plan members will get 8 hours per session. Regardless of the plan, you will still have a monthly 100-hour limit to usage.
Nvidia will allow users to carry over up to 15 unused hours to the next month, but you will still have to contend with session caps. If you exceed your stipulated cap per session, you need to buy extra hours to continue. Nvidia has priced 15 hours of playtime for Performance plans at $2.99 (€2.78 or £2.31), and Ultimate plan members will pay $5.99 (€5.56 or £4.62) for 15 hours.
As a silver lining, active paid members, as of Dec 31, 2024, will have unlimited playtime for a year till January 2026. Nvidia Founders subscriptions will still have unlimited playtimes for life as long as "there is no lapse in their membership".
Nvidia says, "This ample limit comfortably accommodates 94% of members, who typically enjoy the service well within this timeframe."
As expected, users haven't taken this news kindly, with many voicing their displeasure on Reddit and X. Many are urging Nvidia to reconsider their stance and will gladly pay extra to maintain unlimited playtime.
According to a survey by Statista that questioned 10,106 people in the U.S., 28% said they spend about 1 to 5 hours a day on video games, 17% said they spend 6 to 10 hours, and 10% said they spend 11 to 15.
According to howlongtobeat.com, the campaign length of the recently released Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is around eight hours, which goes up to eleven hours if you are a completionist. Multiplayer modes will draw the playtime out even further.
Silent Hill 2 will take around fifteen and a half hours to beat, and Baldurs Gate 3 can last up to sixty-eight hours for just the campaign. Elden Ring can take up to sixty hours or more.
Even if you ignore the average playtimes, the fact that people will have to ration their playtimes per session is an unappealing prospect for any gaming service. You want the players to lose themselves in the game, not eyeing a clock to see how much time they have left.
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