Nvidia launches Grid

NVIDIA has announced that it will roll out an on-demand cloud-based gaming service for its Shield tablet.

The service is powered by the firm's Grid virtual GPU technology, which takes advantage of Citrix's XenDesktop 7.1 and Citrix XenServer 6.2 virtualisation software to allow users to stream graphically intensive applications remotely. It will be free for Shield Tablet users until 30 June 2015.

'While Grid makes gaming gratification immediate, it took us a decade to invent the technology behind the service that streams GeForce GTX-quality graphics to Shield devices,' explained Nvidia, which touted the technology as a 'gaming supercomputer in the cloud'.

'The enabling technologies of Grid are super low latency from controller streaming to graphics to game streaming. And virtualisation so that many gamers can share the GeForce cloud gaming supercomputer,' the firm added.

Nvidia explained that streaming games is difficult as it requires a powerful gaming computer in the cloud as well as ensuring that it can deliver games to players in milliseconds.

Grid puts thousands of GPUs into data centres around the world, an effort which the firm says has put 20 petaflops of graphics processing compute power into the cloud, equal to the fastest supercomputer in the US.

'And we're loading it up with great games. We have AAA titles like Batman: Arkham City and Borderlands 2, as well as classics like Brutal Legend and Psychonauts,' Nvidia said.

'We have 20 great games on Grid at launch worth over $400, and we plan to add more games every week.'

The move sounds like an attempt to shift some of its Shield tablets in time for the holiday season.

A new Shield Hub app will bring the software together and will be available from the Google Play store on 18 November. µ