Following its latest Xbox Games Showcase event, Microsoft has announced that PC Game Pass will be coming to Nvidia's GeForce Now service. Previously, Microsoft signed a 10-year deal with Nvidia that saw Xbox PC games being brought to GeForce Now and the new announcement extends this offering to bring the PC Game Pass catalog to the same service.
Along with Nvidia, Microsoft signed partnerships with gaming entities like Ubitus, EE, Boosteroid, and Nintendo in an effort to convince regulators over the pending $68.7 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition. In Nvidia's case, the initial agreement stated that players can stream PC games via GeForce Now, provided the titles are bought on the Windows Store or come with streaming rights to Nvidia. This means Xbox PC games available on third-party stores like the Epic Games Store and Team can also be streamed with Nvidia's service. The deal would also include Activision Blizzard titles should the pending acquisition gets approved. Now, it appears that the platform support extends to Xbox's subscription service as well.
Game Pass subscribers will soon be able to stream select PC Game Pass games through GeForce Now. This means players will soon be able to utilize the PC Game Pass library even on devices like low-spec PCs, Macs, Chromebooks, mobile devices, and TVs. However, it should be noted that as per the announcement, players might not gain access to the complete PC Game Pass catalog on GeForce Now yet. While it doesn't offer specifics on what these titles might be, Microsoft says the company will be "rolling this out in the months ahead." So it looks like gamers might not have to wait long to experience PC Game Pass via GeForce Now.
The announcement comes at a time when Microsoft is seemingly going through an uptick in its gaming sector. Back in January, the company stated that Xbox's monthly active user count has hit 120 million. Now, Microsoft claims that during the last quarter, the company saw a 46% year-on-year growth in the number of people playing PC games on Game Pass. Further, the company's overall revenue from subscriptions has come close to $1 billion during the same period.
As Microsoft expands its gaming offering to more platforms and devices, the company will also be likely looking to garner favor over its Activision Blizzard deal. In April, UK regulator CMA chose to block Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition, citing cloud gaming concerns as a major part of the decision. However, the EU opted to approve the deal and with Microsoft appealing the UK's decision, the Xbox maker may be betting on its chances for the purchase to go through. While it remains to be seen how the Activision deal will pan out, Microsoft's move to bring its PC Game Pass catalog to more devices via services like GeForce Now comes as welcome news to many gamers.