This GFN Thursday recaps the latest cloud announcements from the CES trade show, including GeForce RTX gaming expansion across popular devices such as Steam Deck, Apple Vision Pro spatial computers, Meta Quest 3 and 3S, and Pico mixed-reality devices. Gamers in India will also be able to access their PC gaming library at GeForce RTX 4080 quality with an Ultimate membership for the first time in the region. This follows expansion in Chile and Columbia with GeForce NOW Alliance partner Digevo. More AAA gaming is on the way, with highly anticipated titles DOOM: The Dark Ages and Avowed joining GeForce NOW's extensive library of over 2,100 supported titles when they launch on PC later this year. Plus, no GFN Thursday is complete without new games. Get ready for six new titles joining the cloud this week.

Head in the Clouds
CES 2025 is coming to a close, but GeForce NOW members still have lots to look forward to. Members will be able to play over 2,100 titles from the GeForce NOW cloud library at GeForce RTX quality on Valve's popular Steam Deck device with the launch of a native GeForce NOW app, coming later this year. Steam Deck gamers can gain access to all the same benefits as GeForce RTX 4080 GPU owners with a GeForce NOW Ultimate membership, including NVIDIA DLSS 3 technology for the highest frame rates and NVIDIA Reflex for ultra-low latency.

GeForce NOW turns any device into a GeForce RTX gaming PC, and is bringing cloud gaming and AAA titles to more devices and regions. Announced today at the CES trade show, gamers will soon be able to play titles from their Steam library at GeForce RTX quality with the launch of a native GeForce NOW app for the Steam Deck. NVIDIA is working to bring cloud gaming to the popular PC gaming handheld device later this year.

In collaboration with Apple, Meta and ByteDance, NVIDIA is expanding GeForce NOW cloud gaming to Apple Vision Pro spatial computers, Meta Quest 3 and 3S and Pico virtual- and mixed-reality devices - with all the bells and whistles of NVIDIA technologies, including ray tracing and NVIDIA DLSS. In addition, NVIDIA is launching the first GeForce RTX-powered data center in India, making gaming more accessible around the world. Plus, GeForce NOW's extensive library of over 2,100 supported titles is expanding with highly anticipated AAA titles. DOOM: The Dark Ages and Avowed will join the cloud when they launch on PC this year.

Shyborg Games, an indie developer, is launching its first game—The Art Collector—on Steam on October 22nd. The game places you in the role of an artist tasked with taking over an art gallery to help your mentor. Customize your gallery and home, befriend local artists, help them gain exposure, and master the art of selling fine art in this narrative-driven, capital management, shopkeeper RPG.

Created by a team of two brothers whom I have personally known for most of my life, it is an awesome experience seeing their passion project, which took a monumental amount of effort, reach this point. With other close friends, family, and myself contributing through playtesting and offering feedback, the game has advanced at a remarkable pace. Considering all the effort that has gone into building this unique experience, I wanted to share it with our community. A demo is available on Steam now, with a launch price of $12.99. You can view the full trailer, history, and all the in-game features after the break!

Logitech announced the availability of MX Ink, the first Mixed Reality (MR) stylus specifically designed for Meta Quest. A precision tool with a familiar pen-like feel, MX Ink allows users to navigate, annotate and create freely across 2D spaces like papers, desks, or whiteboards, as well as immersive 3D environments. The pressure-sensitive tip of MX Ink enables natural writing and gaming motions, merging the tactile sensation of a physical tool with the limitless possibilities of the virtual creative space.

MX ink is currently supported by a wide range of applications across the creativity and productivity landscape, as well as in industries such as medicine, architecture, and education, with new applications being added regularly.

Today at Connect, we unveiled Meta Quest 3S, a headset with the same mixed reality capabilities and fast performance as Meta Quest 3, but at a lower price point. Starting at just $299.99 USD, Quest 3S is the best headset for those new to mixed reality and immersive experiences, or who might have been waiting for a low-cost upgrade from Quest and Quest 2.

From watching your favorite TV shows on a cinema-sized screen to your own personal trainer that you can take with you anywhere you go, plus multitasking capabilities, gaming and more, there's no better mixed reality device on the market at this price.

Welcome to the first week of August and for those of you living in the Nordics, welcome back to work after a month of holiday. This week's major release is based on a manga that became an anime hit on Netflix that involves bouncy things. This is followed by retro fields, a Scottish game that has neither kilts nor bagpipes, a rather different take on Warhammer 40K, a creature centric game, a steamy heist sequel, pirate cats and a kingdom of rats. No huge releases this week either, but still a pretty solid line-up of new games.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles / This week's major release / Thursday 8 August
Spin a new tale of the Jura Tempest Federation together with all your favorite characters from the animated series! Players can enjoy thrilling action battles that combine flashy special moves and powerful combos. Through leveling up bonds with friends, Rimuru will learn Special Attacks, and even have allies join in to back up Rimuru's attack. Finish off formidable enemies that are coming to destroy Tempest with Secret Skills animated in retro 8-bit style! Steam link

As the Product Evangelist for Razer's VR accessories, it's my absolute pleasure to introduce an exciting leap forward in virtual reality gaming: the launch of our new Razer Facial Interface and Razer Adjustable Head Strap System for Meta Quest 3. In developing these products, we aimed to merge Razer's cutting-edge technology with the needs of the modern VR gamer, creating a truly immersive and comfortable experience. These join our current line of products for Meta Quest, including the Razer Hammerhead HyperSpeed for Meta Quest 3.

Crafted for Comfort, Designed for Gamers
Our journey began with a vision to redefine what gamers can expect from their VR equipment. Partnering with ResMed, human factor experts with over 30 years of experience, we drew upon over three decades of expertise to ensure our accessories not only push the envelope in terms of design but also set a new standard for comfort. Our previous generation of VR accessories for the Meta Quest platform was recognized with the Australian Good Design Award, a testament to our commitment to innovation.

Today we're taking the next step toward our vision for a more open computing platform for the metaverse. We're opening up the operating system powering our Meta Quest devices to third-party hardware makers, giving more choice to consumers and a larger ecosystem for developers to build for. We're working with leading global technology companies to bring this new ecosystem to life and making it even easier for developers to build apps and reach their audiences on the platform.

Introducing Meta Horizon OS
This new hardware ecosystem will run on Meta Horizon OS, the mixed reality operating system that powers our Meta Quest headsets. We chose this name to reflect our vision of a computing platform built around people and connection—and the shared social fabric that makes this possible. Meta Horizon OS combines the core technologies powering today's mixed reality experiences with a suite of features that put social presence at the center of the platform.

FarBridge, Inc., a leading game development studio, in partnership with Gearbox Entertainment, is excited to announce Homeworld: Vast Reaches, a bold new story in the beloved Homeworld saga that reimagines strategic space battles for Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality. This new game in the Homeworld universe is launching on the Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3 headsets later this year. Players can now wishlist the game at HomeworldVastReaches.com.

In the award-winning Homeworld games for PC, you play as Fleet Command, a human commander who controls a fleet of spaceships. Players will take on the same role in Homeworld: Vast Reaches in vicious combat against a mysterious new foe.

Hellsingers! Did you think the music had stopped? Hells, no! We're proud to announce Metal: Hellsinger VR, coming to Meta Quest 2 & 3, Meta Quest Pro, PS VR 2, and Steam in 2024! Get ready to be fully immersed in metal and mayhem. Step into the body of the Unknown in full VR and become a true demon of vengeance. Wield her full wicked arsenal in your very hands and unleash its power straight into the snarling hordes' ugly faces. The original acclaimed rhythm shooter, developed by The Outsiders and rated 96% positive on Steam, has been developed for VR from the ground up in collaboration with Lab42 Games, to take full advantage of the potential of VR.

Metal: Hellsinger VR includes everything you've come to know and love in Metal: Hellsinger. That means the full award-winning soundtrack performed by your favorite metal legends, and the entire campaign to wreak vengeance upon the Red Judge all in glorious VR. The game has been rebuilt to take full advantage of the strengths of VR, creating accurate and meaty gunplay, a world that pulsates to the beat, and doing away with most menus for an immersive hub area. Aim dual pistols independently, cock your shotgun, and make them fear the beat.

A true blockbuster has come to PC—and we mean that strictly speaking! Dragon Quest Builders is out now for PC via Steam, with upgraded features and previously released DLC at no additional cost! Read on and we'll tell you all about it...The game is set in the world of Alefgard, a broken world where monsters roam the land and creativity is all but extinct. It's up to you to set things right, but as you're repeatedly told: you're not a hero. You're a builder. Over multiple areas, you'll rebuild this ruined world from scratch. You'll fulfil the many requests of the citizens of the world by gathering resources, constructing buildings, crafting items, battle dangerous bosses and ultimately make the world a better place one block at a time.

What is Dragon Quest Builders?
The game features a lengthy campaign where you'll complete multiple quests and play through a compelling story where the mysteries of the regions and world are revealed. You'll have to rely on your own wits and creativity to overcome the many challenges in each area, especially if you want to achieve the hidden bonus objectives too. While there's a tremendous amount of freedom in the main story, you can also indulge your creativity in the sandbox mode - a blank canvas of possibility where you can really push your imagination to the limit! It's an exceptional game, and the new PC version makes it even better with some awesome features and DLC from previous versions included.

Fight through fearsome Vaults and avoid lethal hazards while fighting alongside your Seneschal Companion in Diablo IV's Season of the Construct. Later today (January 23), dive into a new Seasonal Questline where you'll receive your very own Seneschal Construct. As an exclusive deep dive for Season of the Construct, we're going to give an overview of how to earn your Construct and the Stones needed to increase their lethality. Here's the insider scoop on key builds you can use to obliterate your enemies.

Crush, conquer, Constructs
The Seneschal Construct is obtained during the Seasonal Questline in Season of the Construct. To begin the Seasonal Questline, you'll need to create a new Seasonal Character and select the Skip Main Campaign option to dive right in. If you have not yet completed the Main Campaign, create a new character on the Seasonal realm, complete the prologue, and then use the Skip Main Campaign option to access the Seasonal Questline. Once your Seneschal Companion is obtained, your next step is to customize them with Governing and Tuning Stones. Governing Stones give your companion a variety of abilities, ranging from launching smaller Constructs to detonate on impact to shooting down enemy projectiles. Tuning Stones modify the skills of the associated Governing Stones, such as increasing the attack speed or instantly destroying enemy barriers. Each Construct can be customized with two Governing Stones and six Tuning Stones (three Tuning stones to modify one Governing Stone), leading to a variety of potent combinations to uncover.

D-Link Corporation exclusively partnered with Meta to launch the DWA-F18 VR Air Bridge, which received rave reviews after its debut in North America last year. The DWA-F18 VR Air Bridge was released in Europe this July. This wireless adapter not only supports the Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro headsets but also the latest release of this year, the Meta Quest 3.

The DWA-F18 VR Air Bridge offers simple setup and optimized performance for Meta Quest headsets, enhancing user experience by leveraging the power of Wi-Fi 6 to establish a high-speed, low-latency connection between gaming PCs and Meta Quest headsets.

To call this coming week jam packed with new game releases would be an understatement, as pretty much every day next week will see a big release or two. They may not all be AAA releases, but they're at least AA releases. As such, get ready for a crazy busy week with everything from driving games and parties, to lies and kombat.

The Crew: Motorfest / This week's AAA title / Monday 18 September
The Crew Motorfest features more vehicles than ever before in the franchise, including new brands, new car categories, and dozens of new models. Drive the most exclusive hypercars, such as the Lamborghini Revuelto, discover two generations of Toyota Supra, go electric with the Lotus Evija... and much more!

Meta has invested heavily in Augmented Reality (AR) devices, such as its Quest and Quest Pro devices. However, it seems like the company has received mixed feedback from the community on its AR headsets, most notably on the higher end. Meta's Quest Pro device was launched on October 25, 2022. According to The Information, Quest Pro will be manufactured as long as the supplies last at manufacturing facilities, and Meta will not order any new material for it. Additionally, Quest Pro 2, the second-generation Quest Pro, will not be released as the company has canceled its development. This is not to be confused with the regular Quest, which is still in active development.

Meta's upcoming Quest 3 will even beat the Quest Pro with its specifications, targeting lower price points and a wider audience. Quest 3 will feature a higher resolution, depth sensor, and two 4MP cameras instead of the one on Quest Pro. Logically, Quest 3 is the obvious upgrade and will cost less than $1000, unlike Quest Pro, which debuted with a $1500 price tag.

Whether you're a seasoned VR gamer or new to the medium, it can be hard to know where to start when exploring the Meta Quest catalog. Luckily, we're combining curation and convenience to make things a little easier. Now you can browse less and play more with Meta Quest+, your new VR subscription service.

For just $7.99 USD per month or $59.99 USD annually (a savings of over 37%), you'll get access to two hand-picked VR titles every month. And when you sign up now through July 31, you'll get your first month for $1 USD. With a combination of VR's biggest hits, hidden gems, and back-catalog classics, this is the most affordable way to grow your library with killer content.