Nvidia plans to remove GameStream, a PC game streaming feature, from its Shield TVs and tablets. GameStream has been a feature of Nvidia Shield devices since they were portable, allowing Shield owners to stream games to their TV from a PC at up to 60fps in 4K resolution.
Shield owners will be disappointed to learn that Nvidia is not only discontinuing the GameStream feature, but is actually removing it from devices. An update expected in mid-February will remove the GameStream feature entirely, in a bizarre move after nearly 10 years.
Nvidia recommends Steam Link instead
Nvidia recommends that Shield users move to Steam Link, a similar way to stream PC games to a Shield device. You will need the Steam Link app on your Shield TV to access streaming games from your gaming PC. Nvidia also touts GeForce Now as an alternative, but you won’t get 4K streaming and high frame rates without subscribing to the cloud gaming service.
You can decline the Nvidia Games app update and GameStream will continue to work for some time, but Nvidia warns that it is “no longer supported and will eventually stop working”. You’ll also need the latest Nvidia Games app to access services like GeForce Now.
An alternative might be to use Moonlight, an open source implementation of Nvidia’s GameStream protocol. Moonlight uses a set of third-party clients and the Nvidia protocol to run PC games on virtually any device. It should be possible to continue using alternatives like Sunshine as a GameStream host for Moonlight.
Nvidia hasn’t explained why it’s removing GameStream, but we’ve reached out to the company for comment on the removal and will update you accordingly.
