Video game streaming services are all the rage right now. Microsoft delivers game streaming with Game Pass, Google Stadia is a big deal, NVIDIA has cooked up GeForce Now, and there are even some local options to stream from your own hardware at home.
There's plenty of discourse online about the library and availability of these services, which is all valid if you're looking for one to invest your money into. But we wanted to know how well they actually worked without focusing so much on the game library.
So we took a Galaxy S21 and some Xbox-branded controllers, including the Moga XP5-X+ and Razer Kishi, and played some games from all the big services. We've tested Xbox streaming, GeForce Now, Stadia, and Steam Link, all in a variety of conditions. Bluetooth controller vs a wired controller, WiFi vs LTE, and so on.
Want to find out what we learned? Read on.
Xbox Game Pass
- Consistent performance
- Input lag
- Streaming and local options
If you're even tangentially into video games these days, you've probably heard about Microsoft Game Pass. For a monthly fee you get access to a huge library of games and multiplayer, all accessible on your Xbox, PC, and smartphone. Pick up and play wherever, whether you're installing the games locally to your hard drive, or streaming them to your phone. That last thing is what we're interested in.
Microsoft has enabled some games on their service to be playable on your phone with an app. Fire it up, pick your game, and an Xbox server will stream up your game right to your phone.
If you're interested in technical details, Microsoft caps this streaming at 720p for bandwidth concerns. Some games support touch controls, but not all, so you might need a controller to play some games.
Performance
Our tests were generally pretty solid. I played Sea of Thieves to test, which looked pretty good. It's running off of Xbox One hardware, not Series hardware, so loading times can be a bit of a headache, and since these are Xbox games there really isn't any configuration you can do like on a PC game. That's normally okay, however, and Game Pass has some of the most consistent gameplay on this list. Frame rate is good, and it holds pretty steady on image quality. This held up across both WiFi and LTE, and I think Microsoft's decision to use regular HD resolution makes a lot of sense in this context.
Input lag continues to be a struggle for Game Pass, though. Most games, including Sea of Thieves and Skyrim, were fine on Game Pass, but still felt slightly sluggish. I stuck with the Razer Kishi to minimize this, but it was just a minor improvement over the Bluetooth Moga controller. I think you'd have a very hard time seriously playing a round of Gears or Halo while streaming, unless you absolutely do not care about how well you do. Like with the image quality, input lag wasn't much affected by switching to LTE over WiFi or vice versa.
Local streaming
If you're not interested in streaming games from a catalog, Microsoft will also allow you to stream your home Xbox to your phone. This moves a Microsoft server out of the chain, and keeps everything a little more localized. This experience is generally better than Game Pass while on WiFi, but worse if you're on LTE.
Streaming while you're on the same network is almost like playing a game natively on your phone, assuming you've got a decent router or have your Xbox hardwired. You can use all of your native Xbox apps and things as well, so you can still access your saves, modded games, and games that aren't enabled on Game Pass streaming.
This does work away from home, too, but you're going to be bottlenecked by your home router, internet speed, and LTE connection speed. That's one more variable than you get from Game Pass streaming, and generally is worse for it, but if you're in perfect conditions it can be handy.
Google Stadia
- Best streaming experience
- Limited catalog
- No local streaming
Google Stadia is Google's latest project, and it offers essentially the same service as Game Pass streaming, just with a different business model.
Long story short, Stadia is the console. You don't need to buy any hardware (besides your existing phone or computer) but instead just buy the games directly and stream them. It's a simplified concept that Google has struggled to properly explain, but it works.
Performance
Google Stadia has long touted its excellent, custom-built servers for streaming games, and this generally holds up well for Google. We've previously tested Stadia in a few different ways, and it's only gotten better.
Stadia is one of the only services that seems almost impervious to network types. It didn't matter if I was testing on WiFi or LTE, it always looked good, and always played pretty responsively. I've noticed issues streaming through a computer browser, but using the dedicated app on a smartphone or casting it to a Chromecast is excellent.
So long as you're using a decent wireless controller, you don't need to worry about input lag, either. I've been able to test the Stadia Controller, plus our two controller options from the rest of the list. Everything was quick and responsive, and makes for one of the only options that makes sense for competitive play here. Stadia's limited library and lack of competitive crowds or games is another story entirely.
No local streaming
If streaming via the internet doesn't work for you, Stadia simply won't be an option. Since Stadia games are never locally installed anywhere, you can't stream it locally from your PC or any other game box.
It's understandable, but the other options on the list do have alternate options specifically for this.
GeForce Now
- Consistent streaming
- Minimal input lag
- Strange library issues
GeForce Now is the streaming option that tries to sit in between Google Stadia and something like Game Pass. You subscribe to the service and can access your existing PC game library, or at least some of those games. Publishers come and go from GeForce Now, which has been a problem for the service since its launch and limits the library, especially for anyone without a deep library already.
Performance
As far as the streaming tech goes, NVIDIA offers a solid experience for free and an improved version if you're willing to shell out for the paid membership. This includes quicker access to servers and better hardware to enable things like ray tracing, when available.
Regardless of which route you go, GeForce Now tends to do a great job that's only just below Stadia. Streaming via WiFi or LTE both work very well, and games look just fantastic if you're on a paid membership and get to use higher-end NVIDIA GPUs.
Input lag is also minimal, but the UI can be a little clunky when you need to sign into certain accounts or manage certain PC-centric things with a controller. It works, even if it's not a controller-first experience.
Local streaming
GeForce Now doesn't technically offer a local streaming solution, but if you happen to have an NVIDIA GPU you can take advantage of GameStream, which is a separate but related feature from NVIDIA.
GameStream will take your video stream from your PC and send it to a compatible client. NVIDIA supports a few things, like their own NVIDIA Shield devices, but you can also use Moonlight to stream games to your phone or other device that doesn't natively have NVIDIA support.
I've extensively used GameStream over the years, it's a very solid option in most circumstances. It can be a little weird with HDR streams, but it supports higher resolutions and basically all of your PC games with very little configuration. If you're already in NVIDIA's camp, you should at least give this one a shot since it's free.
Steam Link
- Broad compatibility
- Works great in perfect conditions
- Very sensitive to poor networks
Steam's streaming solution is really built more for doing things on the same network, but it's more recently been expanded to allow for remote streaming, too. It works, even though its DNA is still clearly based in mirroring streams across a home network.
Performance
You get a lot of configuration options with Steam streaming, but it does still use your PC at home that's subject to your home network. But that means you'll need to own the game you want to play, and your PC will need to be able to handle it, too. No big company servers or subscription services here.
I've found Steam's remote streaming works best if you can stay on a WiFi network. Any LTE connections really just give it fits, since Steam seems to be more susceptible to inconsistent network conditions than anything else on the list. Think playing at a hotel or friend's house, as opposed to a parking lot on your lunch break.
Input lag is either great or awful, depending on the network connection. Some other services handle lag spikes a little better with controllers, but Steam will absolutely drop inputs if things get too shaky.
Local streaming
Local streaming is really where Steam Link shines. You can download the app for it on most devices these days, whether that's your smart TV, phone, or streaming box. And as long as you stay within the same network (and have a good connection) you'll basically get a native experience with whatever you're doing.
It's still a little more prone to weird bursts of lag, but the Steam software UX tries to make up for any other pain points. Steam allows you to completely configure any controller that it can recognize, which means it's broadly universal and will let you play any game that doesn't natively support controllers. Steam's library is also massive, and if you add programs to Steam you can take advantage of streaming them, too. So even if your Far Cry collection is on uPlay, you can still play it on your tablet, just with a couple extra steps.
Steam is pretty solidified as my go-to option for streaming things around my house, but I won't touch it for remote play unless it's for something slow like Civilization where a few seconds of lag won't hurt.
So which option should you choose? Well, your game library preference is probably the biggest deciding factor, but if you don't mind starting from scratch, there are a lot of good options here. Stadia offers the best streaming experience, while Steam is going to give you more flexibility than anything else. Game Pass and Xbox are the most plug-and-play options for most users, and GeForce Now sits somewhere in the middle of the other three.
There are other options for streaming, too, like Shadow or Rainway, or even Sony's Remote Play app if you're solidly in the PlayStation camp. Plex has even dipped their toes into this field lately.
Which service are you using to stream games? Let us know in the comments which one you think is the best.
