OnLive Debuts a Different Kind of Cloud Gaming

When OnLive launched in 2010 the company was one of the first to deliver on the promise of cloud gaming. Instead of PC gamers with rigs costing hundreds or thousands of dollars, gamers could instead s...
OnLive Debuts a Different Kind of Cloud Gaming
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  • When OnLive launched in 2010 the company was one of the first to deliver on the promise of cloud gaming. Instead of PC gamers with rigs costing hundreds or thousands of dollars, gamers could instead stream the best versions of games straight over the internet to their mid-priced PC.

    OnLive offered game purchases and rentals through a surprisingly robust cloud infrastructure until August 2012, when the company laid off its staff and filed for bankruptcy. The company was later revealed to be in massive debt and in danger of going under.

    Despite the setback, OnLive was quickly re-formed with around half its original staff and a new management team. Since that time the company has been relatively quiet, though it still provided access for customers who had purchased game through its service.

    Now, OnLive has announced its new business strategy going forward. The company will be offering new “CloudLift” subscription for PC gamers for $15 per month.

    CloudLift is being described by OnLive as a system that links gamers’ PC game libraries through OnLive, allowing games to be streamed to a variety of different devices, including tablets, notebooks, TVs, set-top boxes, and more. The service also syncs cloud saves across platforms.OnLive claims the service will work with “supported games” downloaded from any digital download service. Batman: Arkham Origins, Saints Row IV, and Type: Rider have been announced as being CloudLift compatible at the service’s launch.

    “We’ve listened to our players,” said Mark Jung, executive chairman of OnLive. “They want the convenience of instant access to their games wherever they are, but they also want to own the game and be able to play it locally on their home PC. With this new offering, we’re continuing to expand on the compatibility, freedom and instant access our users enjoy, with the added flexibility of owning a local copy of their games.”

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