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Samsung seems to have finally given in to pressure from gamers after announcing that Xbox Cloud Gaming (beta) with Xbox Game Pass and Nvidia GeForce Now cloud services will be available on more of its smart TVs.
Apps for the two leading game streaming platforms have so far only been available on the South Korean brand’s new range of TVs for 2022, such as the Samsung QN95B, which makes our list of the best 4K TVs.
However, after increasing dissatisfaction from owners of older models, Samsung seems to have relented, with the company confirming it will finally allow the apps to be installed on a wider range of its models before the end of the year. (Through Flat panelsHD)
It’s not all good news for cloud-based gamers, though, as the company is only announcing the app’s rollout for 2021 models, despite older Samsung smart TVs seemingly capable of running the apps quite well.
“When Samsung Gaming Hub rolled out to 2022 TV models earlier this year, the top question we got was ‘when will game streaming come to my 2021 TV’. Today we are happy to share with our excited fans that they be able to play the games they love by the end of this year,” said Mike Lucero, Head of Product for Gaming at Samsung Electronics.
The 2021 lineup of Samsung Smart TVs with Xbox and Nvidia GeForce Now apps is as follows: QN700A, QN800A, QN850A, QN900A, WS1A, LS03A, AU7000, AU8000, AU9000, Q50A, Q60A, Q70A, Q80A, QN85A , QN90A and QN95A.
The brand also revealed that Amazon’s Utomik gaming subscription service and Luna platform will also be part of the app’s rollout, with Antstream and Blacknut following next year.
Samsung also announced that it will also be rolling out a major Nvidia GeForce Now performance boost on some of its TV lines, updating the app to enable support for 4K at 60fps game streaming.
“The offer will roll out in a few weeks and will allow GeForce NOW players to stream PC games at resolutions up to 4K at 60 frames per second natively in 2022 and select 2021 Samsung Smart TVs without waiting for downloads, installs, patches or updates,” Samsung said.
To take advantage of the improved frame rates and resolutions, you’ll need a GeForce Now premium membership that also includes access to RTX ON ray tracing, priority access to Nvidia gaming servers, plus extended eight-hour session time.
Analysis: Samsung’s cloud app rollout could have been so much more
In a week where cloud gaming took a big hit with the news that Microsoft had unceremoniously kicked off its plans for its low-cost Xbox Keystone streaming console, Samsung’s development should undoubtedly be welcomed by gamers.
Nevertheless, it will be a disappointment to older Samsung smart TV owners who will rightfully feel somewhat ignored by the current situation.
It’s also notable that Samsung Gaming Hub, the handy all-in-one menu present on 2022 models, won’t be part of the update for 2021 TVs, granting users access only to individual apps, adding to the half-hearted nature of the rollout.
While we understand that Samsung doesn’t want its users to have a degraded experience on TVs that aren’t streaming capable, there have been so many TVs from the past few years that promised powerful processors that you’d hope would be able to run services smoothly, but those currently probably never get access to the apps.
We’d love to hear the reason for the delay, but as things stand, it’s hard to know exactly what Samsung has to gain by continuing to shut out a large number of users from its built-in game streaming feast.
Want to upgrade to a TV compatible with Xbox and Nvidia for cloud gaming? Check out our Samsung Black Friday deals – and our guide to Black Friday TV deals.