If you’re interested in cloud gaming, but you’re unsure about performance or latency, free trials are available for you to try.
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A trial is a good way to see if a service fits your particular needs. You can see if the latency between you and their servers is bearable enough for an extended gaming session. You can also see if their list of supported games is what you’re interested in playing.
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Many of these free trials do require a credit card, so keep that in mind. Also, these free trials will automatically start billing you after the end of the trial period, so remember to cancel the trial before it expires. Otherwise, you may be met with some surprise charges the following month!
There aren’t many outright free services available, and those that are available are severely restricted, but I’ll list them here too.
1. NVIDIA GeForce NOW
GPU giant NVIDIA offers a cloud gaming service that is free.
Yes, free, as in “free beer”.
After creating an account and signing up, you can connect your Steam account and play your games that are supported on GeForce NOW.
This also includes several free-to-play games like Destiny 2 and Warframe, so you can technically enjoy cloud gaming without paying a cent.
There are a handful of limitations, however. Free users need to wait in a queue before they’re able to connect and load up a game. These wait times can vary depending on peak hour traffic.
Your game session lengths are also restricted to one hour—not bad if you want to hop on for a quick game, but it’s hardly anything when it comes to enjoying your weekend.
Again, you’ll only be able to play games you’ve purchased, as there’s no library of games to choose from.
After the trial
At the time of writing, you have the following options:
The special offer isn’t bad if you’re looking to get 6 months for approximately the price of 5. If you’re into Hyper Scape, then that’s just icing on the cake.
Regardless, $4.99 a month is a pretty solid deal if you want to breathe life into an older PC.
2. PlayStation Now
Sony’s game streaming service PlayStation Now has a trial period, too. It’s only seven days long, but it has the biggest content library available.
There are over 800(!) titles to choose from. There’s a bit of shovelware in the mix, but there are some standout titles in there, from indie to AAA. You can even try a bit of multiplayer during the trial, as a PS Plus subscription isn’t required.
Another plus with this service is that you’re able to instantly play PlayStation exclusive games on your PC—a great deal if you’re not looking to purchase the console any time soon!
All you need is a DUALSHOCK controller and a PSN account to start playing.
The trial period of seven days isn’t too long, but it’s enough to get started, check out the streaming speeds and get a feel for the experience before committing.
Before signing up, check the country list to see if PlayStation Now is supported where you live.
After the trial
If you decide to continue the trial without cancelling, here are your options:
- $9.99 per month, billed monthly
- $24.99 for 3 months, billed every 3 months
- $59.99 for 12 months, billed annually
You get exactly the same features, other than the money you’d save by paying for longer periods.
If you’re looking to only play PlayStation titles, I think this is a solid deal. You won’t have to pay for a console, PS Plus, or individual games. A single game costs as much as a PlayStation Now yearly subscription!
3. Google Stadia
Google Stadia is another major provider with a trial available.
Currently, Google Stadia is offering a one-month free trial of Stadia Pro, their premium subscription service.
With Stadia Pro, you can claim free games each month that last as long as you have your subscription. You’ll also get discounts on certain games in the Stadia store, as well as 4K, HDR, and 5.1 surround sound support.
Google has a well established network infrastructure, with plenty of “points of presence” and a high number of edge server locations. This means there’s a good chance you’ll have a server that’s close to your location and your overall latency will be reduced.
You don’t have to pay anything to sign up to Google Stadia. However, the kicker is that you have to purchase games on their store to play, so you’ll need to fork out money to pay for games from their marketplace before you even start playing.
This trial gives you a taste of how the service performs with the complementary games.
To me, the biggest drawback of the service is the game selection. As of writing, the game offerings from Google Stadia are…negligible, compared to other dedicated stores like PlayStation Now. Here’s hoping that Google can bolster their library as the service grows.
After the trial
Once your month-long trial of Stadia Pro is done, you’ll be charged $9.99 per month, but you can cancel anytime.
Ea Cloud Gaming Trial
4. Cloud Computing + Parsec
Dedicated cloud computing services, like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), have virtual machines that also host GPUs.
One way to have a “free trial” of these services is to get free credit by providing credit card details, and in some cases an email address from an educational institution.
Here are some examples:
Using the free credit, you can spin up a virtual machine with a decent GPU.
Cloud Gaming Trials
After getting the machine started, install Parsec and your games. Then, host a session on Parsec, and play a game powered by Microsoft, Google, or Amazon servers.
Unfortunately, I’ve also read that Microsoft and Google are cracking down on this approach, as their free trials are not allowing the use of GPUs without approval. The Google Cloud Platform free trial details page shows that GPUs are not supported.
It’s a clever idea, but don’t be surprised if either company turns down your request for more powerful virtual hardware.
Cloud Gaming Free Trial
5. Other options
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, at the time of writing, will offer a beta service that enables you to play Xbox games on your Android phone or tablet over the cloud. Normally it’s $14.99 a month, but right now they’re offering the first month for $1, which is practically nothing. There are over 100 games available for you to try during that first month, after which you’ll be charged the full amount.
- I’ve seen suggestions of Maximum Settings (based in Canada) offering a free trial, but when I tried looking at their site, their orders page was under maintenance. I recommend joining their Discord server for updates.
- PlayKey also offers a free trial, but it’s only available for one game (DOOM). It also appears that if you try to play another game during that trial period, you’ll be charged accordingly. The service, as a whole, looks pretty sketchy to me anyway.
Summary
Cloud Gaming Free Trial 2020
These free trials can help you determine if cloud gaming works for you. As always, don’t forget to cancel your trial if you find that it’s not what you need right now!
Vortex Cloud Gaming Trial
If you already have a good gaming PC and a fast internet connection, you can also consider using free software, such as Parsec, Moonlight, or Steam Remote Play.