What you need to know
- Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred is now available for streaming on Nvidia GeForce Now, along with some space themed additions.
- Battle.Net syncing is now supported, allowing members to sync their Blizzard game library with GeForce Now.
- We still can't play Activision Blizzard titles on the Xbox Cloud Gaming service thanks to the CMA ruling in the UK during the acquisition.
This week has been huge for Diablo 4 fans, with the launch of it's first expansion Vessel of Hatred, and today it's officially hit the Nvidia GeForce Now platform. This release is part of the latest GeForce Now Thursday announcement, which also includes several new titles and significant updates to the platform’s syncing capabilities. Ultimate members can enjoy up to 4K resolution and 120 frames per second with NVIDIA DLSS and ray-tracing technologies. As well as the Vessel of Hatred update, we can now play:
- Empyrion – Galactic Survival (New release on Epic Games Store, Oct. 10)
- Europa (New release on Steam, Oct. 11)
- Dwarven Realms (Steam)
- Star Trek Timelines (Steam)
- Star Trucker (Steam)
- Starcom: Unknown Space (Steam)
Play Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred and many other Blizzard titles on any cloud-enabled device
One of the standout features of this week’s GeForce NOW update is the introduction of Battle.Net syncing. This new capability allows members to sync their Blizzard game library with GeForce NOW, ensuring that all their favorite Blizzard titles, such as Overwatch 2, Hearthstone, and StarCraft 2, are readily accessible across all their devices. This addition joins existing syncing support for other digital storefronts, including Steam, Epic Games Store, Xbox, and Ubisoft Connect.
For Nvidia GeForce Ultimate members, the experience is even more impressive. They can enjoy the latest Diablo IV DLC at up to 4K resolution and 120 frames per second, thanks to NVIDIA DLSS and ray-tracing technologies. This means that even on low-powered devices, like the Logitech G Cloud I'm playing on above, players can experience high-quality graphics and smooth gameplay, making the most of their cloud gaming sessions. I'm already a huge fan of Nvidia GeForce Now, my subscription allowing me to play Baldur's Gate 3 last year when my Steam Deck struggled with the title. You can even now use Nvidia GeForce Now on your Xbox with some integration on the dashboard.
It's still ridiculous that we can't play Diablo 4 on Xbox Game Pass, and it could get more ridiculous...
While the launch of Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred on GeForce Now is fantastic news for people like me who have a Nvidia GeForce Now subscription it’s frustrating that we can’t access this on Xbox Cloud Gaming as part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Having to pay for an additional service to enjoy cloud gaming on a title owned by Microsoft feels counterintuitive. Unfortunately, we have the UK government to blame for this situation.
Due to a ruling by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Microsoft had to transfer the cloud gaming rights for Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft for the next 10 years. This decision was a condition for Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard to proceed. As a result, Diablo 4 and other Blizzard titles are not available on Xbox Cloud Gaming, even though they are accessible on other platforms like GeForce Now.
The situation could become even more complicated. Despite the CMA’s concerns about Microsoft having a ‘monopoly’ in the cloud gaming market, transferring these rights to Ubisoft might lead to them being acquired by another major corporation. Tencent is currently eyeing an acquisition of Ubisoft, which could result in Tencent owning the cloud gaming rights to these Blizzard titles. This outcome likely wasn’t the CMA’s intention, but it could lead to an even less favorable situation for consumers, who now have to pay for two subscriptions to get the same service as they would have done prior to the CMA ruling. The prospect of Tencent owning the rights to stream games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 doesn’t sound too promising to me.
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Nvidia GeForce Now is superior to Xbox Cloud Gaming
As much as I love Xbox Cloud Gaming, I do have to admit that Nvidia GeForce Now surpasses it in performance and I do find the extra subscription worth it. The concept is that you play the games you already own, but with the power of high-end NVIDIA PCs over the cloud. GeForce Now gives better resolution, framerate, visual fidelity, bitrate performance, and latency—outperforming Xbox Cloud Gaming. It even works over hotel wi-fi, as Jez Corden found out when he tried to play World of Warcraft. That being said, I'd still love to see Diablo 4 and other titles on Xbox Game Pass as the requirement for the extra subscription isn't viable for most. If you do find yourself wanting to try it out, we have a link to the service below.
