Nvidia’s game streaming service GeForce NOW will be launched today as a web app on iOS Safari—and it’ll eventually bring back Fortnite to Apple devices.
Following a well-documented spat between Apple and Epic Games over the Fortnite’s developer offering of a direct payment method that circumvents third-party store cuts of in-app purchase revenue, iOS players were left high and dry in the crossfire. Apple users had no other way to find Fortnite on their devices, unlike Android users’ bevy of options like the Epic Store or Samsung’s Galaxy Store.
But that’s set to change in the near future, according to a blog post from Phil Eisler, the general manager of GeForce NOW. Fortnite isn’t quite ready to be streamed yet, Eisler said, due to the team’s commitment to bringing a touchscreen experience to the popular battle royale—with some help from the game’s devs.
“Alongside the amazing team at Epic Games, we’re working to enable a touch-friendly version of Fortnite, which will delay availability of the game,” Eisler said. “Touch is how over 100 million Fortnite gamers have built, battled and danced their way to Victory Royale.”
By using this workaround, you’ll technically be running the PC version of Fortnite. But using a mouse and keyboard won’t be a possible option for iOS users due to “hardware limitations.”
Since GeForce NOW doesn’t actually offer its own games but connects directly to digital game stores, you’ll be able to access much of your own library. Some notable publishers like Activision Blizzard and Bethesda have blocked their games from the service, so there won’t be any delving into World of Warcraft or Skyrim for the time being. You can find the list of games supported by the streaming service on Nvidia’s website.
The streaming service will be available in the U.S. and Europe, according to Nvidia’s FAQ, but there are already plans to expand worldwide. Interested users in those regions can try GeForce NOW for free but will have their session lengths capped at one hour before they’ll need to rejoin a queue.
Signing up for the Founders membership will grant you an extended session of six hours along with a host of other benefits, such as queue priority and being able to experience Nvidia’s RTX graphical improvements, like ray tracing, on mobile.
Published: Nov 19, 2020 11:37 am