Cyberpunk 2077 is currently not only notorious because of its many bugs, but also for its exorbitant hardware requirements: If you want to play with ray tracing, for example, you not only need an Nvidia graphics card, but in most cases also have to switch on the AI ​​upscaling DLSS – otherwise it will even jerk on an RTX 3080.

Stadia not only shows a blurred image, but also more unrealistic reflections on the glass due to the lack of ray tracing .

(Image: c’t Magazin)

The hour for cloud streaming platforms strikes: Services such as Google Stadia, Nvidia GeForce Now or Shadow run the game in data centers on server hardware and stream the Video output to customers. This doesn’t even require a computer, so all three services also run on iOS and Android mobile devices or even on streaming boxes for the television (Stadia on Chromecast Ultra, GeForce Now on Shield TV). For all services you have to buy Cyberpunk 2077, but the conventional GOG runs on GFN and Shadow – or Steam version (you just log into your own account), you have to buy the game on Google on the Stadia platform – if you have it on Steam or GOG, this doesn’t do you any good.

Latencies are not a big problem with proper Internet access, as several c’t tests have already shown, for example this one here (for a fee).

From 16 watch we stream live with GeForce Now and Google Stadia.

Video live stream: We play Cyberpunk 2077 on Stadia and GeForce Now

GeForce Now impresses: Raytracing Ultra with 60 fps We to have Cyberpunk 2077 (Version 1. 05) tried on Stadia and GeForce Now (GFN) and were positively surprised, especially by the Nvidia service GFN: With a chargeable “founder” account (currently 27, 45 Euro for 6 months) we could play the game with all (!) Settings on the maximum value without any problems in 1080 Use p-resolution (“Raytracing Ultra”) – at least if DLSS is activated (“Auto”). Without the AI-supported upscaling function, you could still play reasonably well, but with it it was much more fun and feels like 60 fps. Unfortunately, with the GOG version we tested it is currently not possible to display the frame rate calculated by the server. For comparison: On a local gaming PC with a GeForce RTX 2070 and AMD Ryzen 3700 x the game ran significantly worse with the same settings. There is also free GFN access, but there always seems to be long waiting times. With the chargeable founder account, we never recorded waiting times on several test days.

Google Stadia: Runs okay, but graphically slimmed down There is also Google Stadia in a free version, we could use it without any problems. It runs with a maximum of 1080 p-resolution and stereo sound. 4K, HDR and 5.1 sound are reserved for the Pro version (9, 99 euros per month). We also tested with this. Unlike GFN, Stadia runs a specially adapted version that has significantly fewer setting options. So there is only one option under “Graphics” between a 60 – fps mode (“high frame rate”) and a 30 – fps mode (“graphics”). Otherwise you can only set chromatic aberration, depth of field, lens flare and motion blur. Both Stadia preset modes are significantly slimmed down compared to the PC or GeForce Now version: For example, there does not seem to be any ray tracing effects, not even in the 30 – fps mode.

Cyberpunk 2077 in the cloud: image quality in comparison (10 Pictures) PC native (Raytracing Ultra)

(Image: c’t Magazin) In our test runs, the game always ran smoothly under Stadia and also worked without any problems via a Chromecast Ultra with a Stadia controller. However, the image sharpness varied significantly, especially when we used a browser instead of Chromecast. In one case – Edge was running under Windows 10 – the picture worked especially in 60 – fps mode very washed out. After a restart there was more sharpness in the picture. We didn’t have these problems with Chrome. Incidentally, it didn’t seem to be due to the video codec used: With the browser extension “Stadia Enhanced” we had manually preset VP9, ​​the codec is more efficient than the H otherwise used. 264. During the two-hour test run, the Stadia version crashed twice.

All tests ran on a gigabit cable connection (1000 Mbit / s down, 50 Mbit / s up), the Windows – 10 – test computer was connected to the router by cable. We didn’t test Shadow because it currently takes around six months to get an account.

Conclusion The free version of GeForce Now requires a lot of waiting.

Cyberpunk 2077 is more fun in the cloud than on many gaming PCs – especially with GeForce Now you can get into that Enjoy the full graphic splendor, including ray tracing effects. At first glance, these are subtle, but make for a much more realistic overall impression. The unfortunately ray-tracing-free Stadia version is well suited for people who have a Chromecast Ultra but do not have a gaming PC. If you are not too impatient, you should wait a few months anyway until CD Projekt Red has eliminated the most violent bugs.

(jkj)