Linux gets a native GeForce NOW app with DLSS and ray tracing support

Earlier this month at CES, NVIDIA revealed that its cloud gaming platform, GeForce NOW, is now available in beta for Linux. This announcement marked an important step forward for the service and addressed a long-standing request from Linux users.

With this, players can now access a library of more than 4,500 games, including titles such as DOOM: The Dark Ages and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Subscribers to the Ultimate tier can also take advantage of Blackwell GeForce RTX 5080 capabilities, allowing for high-end streaming at resolutions up to 5K and frame rates of 120 fps.

The beta client is optimized for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS or newer and requires a relatively modern GPU that supports H.264 or H.265 Vulkan video codecs, such as NVIDIA GeForce 10-series cards or later. Minimum system requirements include a dual-core x86 or x64 processor running at 2.0GHz or higher, along with at least 4GB of RAM.

For optimal performance, NVIDIA recommends using driver version 580.126.09 or newer on its own GPUs, while users with Intel or AMD graphics should install Mesa 24.2.8. The application supports both X11 and Wayland, although NVIDIA GPU users are currently advised to sign in using X11 for better compatibility.

With this release, GeForce NOW now offers native applications across Windows, macOS, Chromebooks, mobile devices, smart TVs, and Linux, greatly expanding the reach of PC game streaming. As a result, users with a reliable internet connection can enjoy a high-quality PC gaming experience on a wide variety of devices.

The Linux version of GeForce NOW is distributed as a Flatpak, making it installable on other Linux distributions that support Flatpak. However, NVIDIA officially supports Ubuntu only. The GeForce NOW Linux app can be downloaded directly from NVIDIA’s website.

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