Seven years after its preliminary launch, the Nvidia Shield TV continues to be held up as top-of-the-line premium set-top containers available on the market. That’s largely as a result of its streaming video prowess, however there’s additionally the GameStream system, which let avid gamers stream PC video games from a neighborhood Nvidia-powered laptop computer or desktop. Despite closely promoting the know-how because the authentic Shield Portable, Nvidia will shut down the streaming service in February.

The Shield TV’s GameStream function runs on a neighborhood community, and wishes a robust PC in the identical constructing so as to work. It shouldn’t be confused with Nvidia GeForce Now, the cloud gaming service which streams PC video games from an Nvidia information heart (and which fees for its most premium options). The latter appears to be the main target of Nvidia’s streaming technique going ahead, and doesn’t look like at risk of disappearing on the time of writing.

GameStream began its life on the original Shield, the chunky, Android-powered moveable that debuted in 2013. At the time it was the best choice available on the market for low-latency streaming PC video games from a desktop to a conveyable gadget, even when it did require high-end community tools to work properly. The Shield Portable by no means acquired a second-generation gadget (ditto for the Shield Tablet) however the GameStream service remained a banner function as Nvidia transitioned the model into a robust gaming-focused set-top field.

The market is in a special place right this moment. GameStream will disappear with a tool replace in February 2023. The brief electronic mail doesn’t give a cause for the shutdown, however it’s a secure guess that the corporate is transitioning sources from a product function that’s in all probability seldom-used into GeForce Now, and the potential subscription income it would generate. That’s comprehensible, however GeForce Now isn’t a one-to-one substitute for GameStream: its library is proscribed (with some publishers like Activision absent totally) and customers can’t regulate most graphical settings.

In its announcement electronic mail, Nvidia suggests avid gamers substitute GameStream with Steam Link, which works properly on the Android TV-powered gadget. Other providers like Moonlight additionally match that individual area of interest.