As a hardcore gamer who loves immersing myself in rich worlds and complex gameplay, I used to spend hundreds of dollars a year on buying the latest console games. Yet with new cloud gaming services like Xbox Game Pass and NVIDIA GeForce Now, I’ve found an even better and more affordable way to play — streaming games over the internet.

And for hardcore gamers who take their gaming seriously, cloud gaming blows traditional gaming out of the water in terms of costs and benefits. Here’s why it’s absolutely worth every penny over buying individual games if you’re a hardcore player:

No upfront hardware costs

The biggest appeal of cloud gaming is not having to dish out $500 or more on an expensive, cutting-edge console like the PS5 or Xbox Series X. With cloud gaming, all you need is a screen and an internet connection to start playing recent AAA games on max settings. No console required.

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This makes it easy to jump between playing on your smart TV, phone, laptop, or tablet. And not being locked into a console ecosystem gives you more flexibility to switch services and try new games. No more buyer’s remorse from buying the wrong expensive plastic box!

Cheaper access to more games

Cloud gaming services offer an all-you-can-play Netflix-style library of games for a monthly subscription fee — usually around $10-$15 per month. For the cost of buying just 2 or 3 new console game releases, you can play over 100 high-quality games.

This gives hardcore gamers way more variety to dig into different genres, discover new franchises, and try titles they might otherwise have missed. It’s a great way for serious gamers to expand their gaming horizons.

Seamless gameplay across devices

Cloud gaming lets you take the same game from your smart TV to your phone or laptop seamlessly, picking up right where you left off. No need to wait for long downloads or transfers when switching screens.

For hardcore gamers who want to immerse themselves in sprawling open-world epics like Sea of Thieves or Forza Horizon 4, being able to play both at home and on the go is a serious game changer. No more gaming sessions cut short because someone else needs the TV!

Higher graphics without hardware upgrades

Cloud gaming platforms let you play games on max graphical settings — even if you don’t own a powerful gaming rig. This streaming technology renders the games on servers in a data center, not locally on your hardware.

So as a hardcore gamer looking for the highest fidelity visuals, cloud gaming gives you elite PC-quality graphics without dropping $5,000 on the latest graphics cards or processors. It closes the gap between console and ultra-spec PC gaming.

Next-gen gaming without the wait

Finally, cloud gaming eliminates that long agonizing wait when exciting new gaming hardware gets announced. With cloud services, you don’t need to count down the months for a PS5 restock or the release of NVIDIA‘s revolutionary new 40 series GPUs.

Cloud gaming platforms give you immediate access to recent releases running on this cutting-edge hardware remotely. For hardcore devotees always chasing that next-gen high, cloud eliminates the upgrade cycle frustration.

Of course cloud gaming still has some drawbacks — resolution limitations, compression artifacts, and spotty internet connections can hamper the experience. But for hardcore gamers who live for rich worlds, exciting games, and immersive stories over pure visual fidelity — something I personally prize most — cloud gaming handily beats out old school console and PC gaming. The economics, flexibility, mobility, and next-gen advantages over buying individual games make cloud services like Xbox Game Pass and GeForce Now every hardcore gamer’s dream.