Skip the new Game Pass option to play on GeForce Now

Microsoft is supposed to make it easier for Game Pass subscribers to stream games through Nvidia’s GeForce Now. In reality, it’s only making the process more complicated.

If you visit the Xbox.com website as a Game Pass Ultimate subscriber, you’ll see that there’s an option to play with cloud gaming which now contains two different options: Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming service or GeForce Now, as shown below:

GeForce Now is generally a much better streaming service than Microsoft’s, offering 4K resolution and much better graphics performance to gamers who subscribe to the Ultimate tier.

However, if you choose to launch GeForce Now from the Xbox website, you’ll simply be redirected to the GeForce Now website, where you won’t be able to take advantage of all the graphics features on offer. For that, you’ll need the GeForce Now app, which makes the link from the Xbox website largely useless.

Here’s what you should do instead.

How to play Game Pass games with GeForce Now

1. Download the GeForce Now App—there are versions available for PC or Mac
2. Once logged into the GeForce Now app, open Settings and connect your Xbox account to GeForce Now
3. In Games, you should now see lists of PC Game Pass games that you can stream via GeForce Now, as shown in the screenshot above

This means you can take advantage of the best possible performance offered by GeForce Now and change many more settings than are available in the web browser version that the Xbox site links to.

GeForce Now Issues with Game Pass

That’s not to say everything will go smoothly when you try to play Game Pass games using Nvidia’s streaming service.

For example, both Far Cry 5 And Far Cry 6 are listed in the list of PC Game Pass games available to stream via GeForce Now. However, when you try to launch this game, it says “To play this game, the PC digital version must be in your Ubisoft Connect library”. There is no option to choose the Xbox library instead.

To stream these games, you should instead visit the Xbox Cloud Gaming Site and launch them from there. But that means accepting the lower streaming quality offered by Microsoft’s own service.

DLC can also be a tricky issue to overcome when trying to play Game Pass titles through GeForce Now. For example, I play Crusader Kings III via Game Pass and I purchased DLC packs for the game through the Microsoft Store.

While DLC packs usually work well if you install the game locally on a PC, using them on GeForce Now can be a nightmare. Sometimes, DLC packs aren’t available on the streaming service right away, meaning you have to wait days or even weeks for the DLC to be ready to stream.

It can also be difficult to convince the streaming service that you actually purchased the DLC in the first place, often requiring multiple logins to different services before they’ll even accept that you actually own the pack in question.

My advice: Streaming Game Pass games via GeForce Now is generally fine if you’re only playing the base game, but be very careful about investing in DLC through the Microsoft Store if you plan on streaming the game.