Nvidia has once again bumped forward the date that it will start charging for the GRID games streaming service. In February it said that the service would be free for all SHIELD device owners until 30th June, in June it bumped that date forward to 31st July. Now Nvidia has changed the free streaming termination date to September, as evidenced not by any announcement, but by a subtitle on the GRID game streaming home page.
The previous delay in ending the freebie status of the Nvidia GRID game streaming service was put down to its full out-of-beta service launch being timetabled for August. Obviously August has arrived, and Nvidia has now extended the free period to September. Android Police reports that official GRID page was updated to display the "free until September" date on Friday night.
Since its rollout last November, Nvidia has been adding games to GRID streaming every week. There are 56 PC games available, including titles such as Batman Arkham Origins, Alan Wake and Borderlands, to stream to SHIELD devices. In addition to the GRID service SHIELD devices let you can stream games from your own PC library, from a choice of over 200 GameStream-optimized games you may own, and you can play Android games too, of course.
When it launches fully the GRID game streaming service will offer two tiers; a block of titles which are included as a base package, plus newer games sold to add to your streaming service for an extra outlay. This is like how some TV/Movie streaming service companies offer a base package with the newer releases priced as extras.
There's no official word on the reason for the delay in launching the full paid GRID service, or it it's related to the SHIELD tablet fire hazard recall. As the launch date gets put back SHIELD owners have longer to enjoy the free service, yet more time to worry about what price Nvidia will set for GRID subscriptions.
