GeForce Now Is Capping Your Playtime at 100 Hours, and Yes, You Have to Pay for More

The era of "Netflix for games" is dead, and it has been replaced by the "metered internet in 2005" model.

A promotional image for GeForce NOW showing games like Borderlands 4 and Forza Horizon 5 displayed across various devices, including TVs, laptops, and handheld consoles, all resting on black hexagonal risers.

If you rely on Nvidia’s GeForce Now to play Cyberpunk 2077 because GPU prices require selling a kidney, I have bad news. The grace period is over. Starting January 1, 2026, the service is slapping a hard 100-hour monthly limit on almost all subscribers.

This shouldn't be a total shock. Nvidia technically announced this back in late 2024, but they gave existing users a "legacy" year of unlimited play. That year is up. Now, everyone is getting thrown into the meter-reading pool.

The "You'll Own Nothing" Tax

Here is how the math works out. You get 100 hours of playtime per month. That averages out to about 3 hours a day. If you are a normal human with a job and a 8 to 9 hour sleep schedule, with most of your friends being irl and not online that sounds fine. But if you are a dedicated gamer, or if you share the account with family, you are going to hit that wall fast.

Once you hit the limit, Nvidia isn't just kicking you off. They are asking for your wallet.

THE COST OF OVERTIME

If you want to play past the cap, you have to buy 15-hour blocks.

TIER MONTHLY PRICE EXTRA 15 HOURS COST
Performance $9.99 $2.99
Ultimate $19.99 $5.99

The Loophole (and the Rollover)

There is exactly one group of people laughing right now: the "Founders." If you subscribed before March 17, 2021, and have never let your subscription lapse, you are exempt. You still get unlimited playtime. For everyone else, this is the new reality.

To be fair, Nvidia is adding a rollover feature. If you don't use all your hours, up to 15 hours will carry over to the next month. It’s a small consolation prize, but it helps if you have a busy month followed by a binge session.

My Take

This feels like the inevitable endstate of the subscription economy. They get you hooked with unlimited value, kill the competition (or in this case, make buying a GPU impossibly expensive), and then tighten the screws. 100 hours is a lot, sure. But it’s the principle. The cloud was supposed to be the future of gaming freedom. Instead, it’s just another utility bill where you have to watch the clock.

If GPU prices keep climbing, this is only going to get worse. You will own nothing, you will be happy, and you will log off after exactly 100 hours.

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