6 Best Cloud Gaming Services in 2024

Cloud gaming has come a long way in the last couple of years and more often than not, they’ve been stable and as powerful as their physical console counterparts. So today, we’re checking out some of the best of the best cloud gaming services in 2024.

1. Most Important Aspects of a Cloud Gaming Service

Before we get into the list, we have to over some of the most important things to consider when selecting a cloud gaming service.

1. Performance and Latency

It’s crucial to get a fast and lag-free gaming performance while playing games over the cloud.

If you notice audio/video delays, significant frame rate drops, or other issues with the connection, try another platform before going all in.

2. Game Library

A cloud gaming platform’s library should be a make-or-break decision as it literally decides what kind of games you can or cannot play.

3. Device Compatibility and Integration

You need to keep in mind what devices support the cloud gaming platform and any in-built integration it might have.

4. Affordability

The last thing you have to consider is how affordable the subscription is and how much you get out of it. Most cloud gaming services charges for $10-$20.

2. 6 Best Cloud Gaming Services

We have tested these 6 popular cloud gaming platforms below.

1Xbox Cloud Gaming

Device Compatibility: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, select Samsung smart TVs, VR headsets

Available Games: Over 500

Popular Games: Forza Horizon 5, Halo Infinite, Gears 5, Fortnite...

Price: Requires Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Subscription - $16.99/month

One of the most recognizable best cloud gaming services in recent years has to be Xbox Cloud Gaming. Xbox Cloud Gaming allows you to access a great selection of games including Xbox’s latest exclusive titles and a fresh roster of games added monthly.

This also includes Xbox’s Game Studios titles, which means you can get all the latest AAA titles from Microsoft the day it releases, on Game Pass Ultimate which makes it worth the subscription.

But keep in mind you will need a Game Pass Ultimate subscription to use the cloud gaming feature, and it also needs to be supported in your region to work. It is a little pricey, but if you’re serious about cloud gaming, then this is one of your best options.

2PlayStation Plus Premium

Device Compatibility: PS4, PS5, PC

Available Games: Over 750

Popular Games: God of War, Bloodborne, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End...

Price: $17.99/month

The next best cloud gaming service on the list is none other than PlayStation’s version, PlayStation Plus Premium. With this, players can stream a selection of PS4 and PS5 games that you can access on your PS5! The caveat is you can only play PS5 cloud games from your PS5 console which limits where and what you can play.

PC and PS4’s cloud gaming with PlayStation Plus Premium can only access a selection of PS4 titles, so you’re pretty limited in terms of what games you can play and where. Not to mention you can’t stream cloud games directly to mobile devices or smart TVs.

If you’re fully invested in the PS5 ecosystem, this is a great option.

3Nvidia GeForce Now

Device Compatibility: Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, web browser, Android, iOS, NVIDIA Shield TV, LG & Samsung smart TVs, Android TV

Available Games: Over 1800

Popular Games: Fortnite, Cyberpunk 2077, Destiny 2...

Price: $9.99/month

Next up we have one of the free cloud gaming services around, NVIDIA GeForce Now. With the free tier of GeForce Now, you can access a basic PC to play any of their supported games for up to 1 hour. This isn’t much but it is impressive considering new users can try out the service entirely for free.

But if you’d like to do some serious gaming, you’ll need to purchase a Premium pass to access a more powerful cloud PC and longer play sessions. There are over 1800 games to play which is great, but we’d like to point out that the selection itself isn’t as impressive.

4Blacknut

Device Compatibility: Web browser, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Android TV

Available Games: Over 500

Popular Games: Overcooked! 2, DiRT Rally 2.0, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4...

Price: $15.99/month

Blacknut is one of the best cloud gaming services if you’re looking for a family-friendly alternative to services like Game Pass or GeForce Now. Blacknut has a plentiful selection of over 500 titles with some impressive hidden gems.

However, we should point out that many of its 500 games are actually mobile games which makes the service unsuitable for hardcore gamers. But there’s plenty to keep the kids entertained, and it also has parental controls to keep an eye on what your kids are playing.

Overall, a great package for families.

5Amazon Luna

Device Compatibility: Web browser, Fire TV, Fire tablets, Samsung smart TVs, LG smart TVs

Available Games: Over 100

Popular Games: Control, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Assassin's Creed Valhalla...

Price: $9.99/month

Amazon Luna is a surprising top contender in the list with a solid, albeit small, selection of titles to choose from. One of the top features of Amazon Luna is its integration with Twitch, Discord, and other social features that are lacking in other cloud gaming platforms.

However, this requires you to purchase an additional bundle on top of your existing Luna+ subscription, which can add up pretty significantly. All in all, Luna has a great selection of games, but it’s just not meaty enough for most gamers.

We’re missing a lot of heavy hitters, so this isn’t ideal especially if you want to play the latest and greatest games on the platform.

6Shadow

Device Compatibility: Windows, macOS, web browser, iOS, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Meta Quest

Available Games: Dependant on your personal games library

Popular Games: Starfield, Far Cry 6, Red Dead Redemption 2

Price: $29.99/month

And lastly, we have the next best cloud gaming service for PC, Shadow. Compared to other options on the list, Shadow is a unique entry as it’s not an exact ‘cloud gaming’ service, but a cloud computing platform where you can rent a cloud-based PC.

This gives you the ability to connect and use a Windows PC from any device, which means you can access any of your existing game libraries on this cloud PC. This is a great option if you don’t have a reliable, powerful PC with the latest GPU and specs but still want to try your hand at PC gaming. Morevoer, Shadow Game Store offers discounts on all the essential games to have in your Steam, Ubisoft, or Rockstar library.

But this comes at the cost of having to purchase and own games rather than accessing them from a dedicated library to stream from.

3. Which Is the Best Cloud Gaming Service

After a detailed review for the top cloud gaming services, we think Xbox Cloud Gaming and NVIDIA GeForce Now offer the best performance and least latency, and Xbox Cloud Gaming also come with a larger game library.

In addition, Most could gaming services are available on major devices, including PC, Android, and iOS, except for Play Station Plus Premium is only available on PS gaming consoles or PC.

GeForce Now is the most cost-effective option as it offers a one-hour free trial for every game.