Turn Black Friday into Green Thursday with a new deal on GeForce NOW Ultimate and Performance memberships this week. For a limited time, get 50% off new Ultimate or Performance memberships for the first three months to experience the power of GeForce RTX-powered gaming at a fraction of the cost. The giving continues for GeForce NOW members: SteelSeries is offering a 30% discount exclusively to all GeForce NOW members on Stratus+ or Nimbus+ controllers, perfect for gaming anytime, anywhere when paired with GeForce NOW on Android and iOS devices. To redeem the discount, opt in to GeForce NOW rewards and look out for an email with details. Enjoy this exclusive offer on its own - it can't be combined with other SteelSeries promotions. It's not a GFN Thursday without new games - this week, six are joining the over 2,000 titles in the GeForce NOW library.

Plus, the Steam Autumn Sale is happening now, featuring stellar discounts on GeForce NOW-supported games. Snag beloved publishers' top titles, including Nightingale from Inflexion Games, Remnant and Remnant II from Arc Games, and Cult of the Lamb and The Plucky Squire from Devolver - and even more from publishers Frost Giant Studios, Metric Empire, tinyBuild, Torn Banner Studios and Tripwire. The sale runs through Wednesday, Dec. 4.

Rain or shine, a new month means new games. GeForce NOW kicks off April with nearly 20 new games, seven of which are available to play this week. GFN Thursday celebrates the 10-year anniversary of ZeniMax Online Studios' Elder Scrolls Online by bringing the award-winning online role-playing game (RPG) to the cloud this week. Plus, the GeForce NOW Ultimate membership comes to gamers in Japan for the first time, with new GeForce RTX 4080 SuperPODs online today.

The Rising Sun Goes Ultimate
GeForce NOW is rolling out the green carpet to gamers in Japan, expanding next-generation cloud gaming worldwide. The Ultimate membership tier is now available to gamers in the region, delivering up to 4K gaming at up to 120 frames per second, all at ultra-low latency - even on devices without the latest hardware. Gamers in Japan can now access from the cloud triple-A titles by some of the world's largest publishers. Capcom's Street Fighter 6 and Resident Evil Village will be coming to GeForce NOW at a later date for members to stream at the highest performance. GeForce NOW will operate in Japan alongside GeForce NOW Alliance partner and telecommunications company KDDI, which currently offers its customers access to GeForce RTX 3080-powered servers, in addition to its mobile benefits. Plus, new GFNA partners in other regions will be announced this year - stay tuned to GFN Thursdays for details.

This GFN Thursday levels up PC gaming on mobile with higher-resolution support on Android devices. This week also brings 10 new games to the GeForce NOW library, including Enshrouded. Pixel Perfect—GeForce NOW transforms nearly any device into a high-powered PC gaming rig, and members streaming on Android can now access that power from the palms of their hands. The GeForce NOW Android app, rolling out now to members, unlocks a new level of visual quality for Ultimate members gaming on mobile, with improved support for streaming up to 1440p resolution at 120 frames per second.

Explore the vibrant neon landscapes of Cyberpunk 2077, stream triple-A titles like Baldur's Gate 3 and Monster Hunter: World, and play the latest releases in the cloud, including Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Exoprimal—all on the go with higher resolutions for more immersive gameplay. Ultimate members can stream these and over 1,800 titles from the GeForce NOW library on select 120 Hz Android phones and tablets at pixel-perfect quality. Plus, they can take gameplay even further with eight-hour sessions and tap GeForce RTX 4080-powered servers for faster access to their gaming libraries. Sign up for an Ultimate membership today and check out this article for more details on how to set up Android devices for PC gaming on the go.

According to the latest NVIDIA knowledge base FAQ, the pricing structure of NVIDIA's GeForce NOW game streaming service is increasing. Applicable only to Canada and Europe, the price increases due to "increased operational costs in those areas," as NVIDIA notes. The customers paying in CAD, GBP, EUR, SEK, NOK, DKK, CZK, and PLN will experience a roughly 10-20% price increase of around one to two Euros, based on the GeForce NOW subscription level. However, there is a good chance to secure better prices for the following months, as active and new members who sign up for GeForce NOW before November 1st can lock in their memberships at the current pricing for six months before experiencing an increase.

The company notes that this also impacts membership gift card pricing adjustment, with gift cards purchased before November 1st honoring the old pricing and newly minted gift cards after November 1st getting a price increase. This change occurs across all subscription tiers, including the Priority tier for 1080p gaming at 60 FPS, the Ultimate tier for 4K experience at 120 FPS, and the Founders Ultimate tier, which increases gameplay duration from six to eight hours. You can see the updated pricing structure in the table below.

The wait is over. GeForce NOW Ultimate members can experience Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty on GOG.com at full GeForce RTX 4080 quality, with support for NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 technology. It's part of an action-packed GFN Thursday, with 26 more games joining the cloud gaming platform's library, including Quake II from id Software. Take on a thrilling challenge with Phantom Liberty, an all-new adventure for Cyberpunk 2077. When the orbital shuttle of the President of the New United States of America is shot down over the deadliest district of Night City, there's only one person who can save her. Become V, a cyberpunk for hire, and dive into a tangled web of espionage and political intrigue, unraveling a story that connects the highest echelons of power with the brutal world of black-market mercenaries.

Ultimate members can return to the neon lights of Night City and experience the benefits of NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 and its new Ray Reconstruction technology. These updates enhance the quality of full ray tracing in Cyberpunk 2077's Ray Tracing: Overdrive Mode, as part of the game's 2.0 update available for the base game for free and included with the Phantom Liberty expansion. Upgrade to a GeForce NOW Ultimate membership today to see Night City at its best.

Microsoft has implemented two new features into its DirectX 12 API - GPU Upload Heaps and Non-Normalized sampling have been added via the latest Agility SDK 1.710.0 preview, and the former looks to be the more intriguing of the pair. The SDK preview is only accessible to developers at the present time, since its official introduction on Friday 31 March. Support has also been initiated via the latest graphics drivers issued by NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD. The Microsoft team has this to say about the preview version of GPU upload heaps feature in DirectX 12: "Historically a GPU's VRAM was inaccessible to the CPU, forcing programs to have to copy large amounts of data to the GPU via the PCI bus. Most modern GPUs have introduced VRAM resizable base address register (BAR) enabling Windows to manage the GPU VRAM in WDDM 2.0 or later."

They continue to describe how the update allows the CPU to gain access to the pool of VRAM on the connected graphics card: "With the VRAM being managed by Windows, D3D now exposes the heap memory access directly to the CPU! This allows both the CPU and GPU to directly access the memory simultaneously, removing the need to copy data from the CPU to the GPU increasing performance in certain scenarios." This GPU optimization could offer many benefits in the context of computer games, since memory requirements continue to grow in line with an increase in visual sophistication and complexity.