Verizon probably isn’t the first name that’ll come to mind when you think of video games, yet the carrier apparently has huge gaming plans for what’s to come. As per The Verge, the organization is working on and is as of now alpha testing a cloud gaming service à la PlayStation Now called Verizon Gaming. In view of the discussion posts and emails The Verge saw, Verizon has been recruiting testers for some time currently, giving qualified candidates a free NVIDIA Shield TV, where the service is as of now ready for action with 135 games, and a Xbox One Controller, which works with the platform. Testers likewise get a $150 Amazon gift voucher as a reward.
Leaked screenshots of the version being tested show popular games like Fortnite, God of War, Detroit Become Human and Red Dead Redemption. Regardless of whether the platform really will really offer PS exclusives and other best-selling titles stays to be seen, be that as it may, since the posters could easily be placeholders. Likewise, testers have been complaining about a poor and laggy experience, which isn’t actually surprising for an alpha test.
While building up a cloud-based gaming platform may appear to be a strange move for a mobile carrier, it could be a great complement to Verizon’s 5G rollout. For sure, a Verizon work posting from November called for Cloud Gaming Product Manager, who’ll be in charge “with delivering next generation gaming experiences that harnesses the power and capabilities of Verizon’s 5G network connectivity.”
Verizon Gaming just works with NVIDIA Shield for now, yet the service will likewise be accessible for Android gadgets in the future. The present testing period will wrap up by the finish of January, as indicated by leaked emails from the team behind it. That is additionally when the platform will become accessible for Android testers through Google Play.