What is now.gg? Everything you need to know

Have you been hearing about now.gg lately? It’s all the talk among mobile gamers, and it’s a pretty awesome service. Let’s go over what is now.gg and everything you need to know about it.

Despite its recent popularity, there’s still a lot of mystery about what now.gg is. Put simply, now.gg is a cloud gaming platform. You can use it to play games in the cloud without having to install them on your device. This makes it easy to play any game without sacrificing your storage space, which can often be very limited.

What makes this service special is that it focuses on mobile games. Another critical factor that makes now.gg stand out is the fact that it requires no app. You can access it and play games straight from a browser, by simply going to the now.gg website. This means you can use it with almost any device that has a browser, including computers, tablets, smartphones, and even some gaming consoles like an Xbox.

Because it is a cloud gaming service, the only real limitation you should worry about is your internet. Now.gg requires a relatively stable internet connection. The recommended speeds are a 5Mbps bandwidth and less than a 40ms ping.

Of course, gamers are demanding, so now.gg has plenty of competition it needs to keep up with. The service aims to offer as many features as possible, and it is doing pretty well at it. Let’s go over the main now.gg features you can enjoy.

• Keyboard and touchscreen support: Because these are primarily mobile games, it is nice to see that touch controls are supported by now.gg. You can also play games with a keyboard if you prefer.
• Gamepad support: You can use gaming controllers with now.gg. The company mentions you can use any gamepad, but a few have been confirmed to work with it. These include Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Logitech, and Redgear controllers. Of course, the game must also support controllers for this to work.
• Built-in AI: Now.gg has a built-in AI assistant named Ana. It can help you with any doubts you may have about the service. Just ask away! I’ve used it to find game suggestions, ask about features, and more.
• Multi-player support: You are able to play with friends online, as you would be on any other platform, given the game supports this.
• Your progress will be saved: Those who create a now.gg account will enjoy progress saving, which means you’ll be able to pick up where you left off when playing any game. This is an excellent feature if you play games on now.gg often.
• Social features and sharing: Once you have a now.gg account, things can get pretty fun. You’ll be able to collect trophies and achievements. There is an internal ranking feature, as well as gaming statistics. It’s also possible to share your experience, and live streaming is supported.
• You can use mods: You can create and share mods for games that allow it.
• You can sideload games!: You aren’t limited to the game library offered by now.gg. The feature is in beta, but now.gg actually allows sideloading games using a “secret phone.” You just have to get the APK file to install the Android app on this virtual device.

For now, gg is completely free. There isn’t even an option to pay for anything yet, though this may change in the future. You can make in-app purchases, but the developer must implement this capability into its apps. Subscription support is also in the works.

That said, the company must make money somehow, so the website is ad-supported. And to be honest, these ads can be pretty intrusive. It can also detect if you’re using an ad-blocker and won’t allow you to game if you’re trying to block the ads.

Is now.gg safe?

Now.gg is arguably safer than playing games directly on your device. This is because the games are running in the cloud, using now.gg’s servers. Essentially, it is like playing a video, so the game can’t really access your local files or install any malicious software on your device.

Even if you were to sideload a malicious app, your phone will never be affected. The only worry would be to avoid phishing attempts, so try to be careful about providing any personal information, passwords, and log-in details to your accounts. And this is only a concern for sideloaded games, as natively supported apps are trustworthy, since they have been vetted by now.gg.

There are many reasons that would make now.gg a popular service. For starters, it is completely free. And while it costs nothing to use, it is actually a very capable service. The collection of games is very healthy, including super popular titles like Roblox, Free Fire, PUBG: Mobile, Among Us, The Sims Mobile, and much more. We actually have a list of the best now.gg games available if you want to find other great options.

It’s also nice that your phone won’t be doing all the work, so any device with a stable internet connection can play higher-end games, even on a cheap phone. And because it operates over the internet, on a browser, you won’t need to waste a bunch of space installing games locally. And games can be pretty heavy on your storage!

Considering these things, as well as social features, sideloading support, progress saving, and more. What’s not to like?