If you've ever dreamed of ditching a cumbersome gaming PC and still flying with a proper stick-and-throttle setup, NVIDIA just made that a lot easier. GeForce NOW has begun rolling out support for flight controllers — starting with the Thrustmaster T.Flight HOTAS One — so you can steer jets, shuttles and starfighters streamed from the cloud with a real HOTAS rig.
Why this matters
Flight sticks are fussy. They rely on fine-grain inputs, twists and gradual throttle changes that don't forgive lag or jitter. Letting them live in the cloud requires low latency, careful input mapping and a service that can keep framerates steady during hectic dogfights and helicopter insertions. NVIDIA says this feature was one of the community’s most requested additions, and the rollout is positioned as a first step: initial compatibility with the T.Flight HOTAS One, a dedicated app row for flight-enabled games, and plans to add more peripherals over time.
What you can expect right now
- The launch device is the Thrustmaster T.Flight HOTAS One (you can find it available on Amazon). Plug it into your client device and GeForce NOW will pass the controls into the streamed game so you can feel rolls, yaw and throttle transitions without fiddling with virtual axes.
- NVIDIA has added a visible row in the GeForce NOW app spotlighting titles that support flight controls — an easy way to find sims and space games that benefit from a stick.
- Team Jade’s Delta Force is called out as arriving on the service soon, while several other titles are available immediately: MIO: Memories in Orbit, Bladesong, Rustler, and The Gold River Project.
- Flight sticks can be steep to learn if you haven’t used one before; expect a calibration session and some sensitivity tweaking before things feel natural.
- If you plan long hauls, ensure your home network is stable — wired connections or a strong Wi‑Fi link will make a noticeable difference.
- The initial support is limited to the stated peripherals, so if you own a boutique or pro-grade HOTAS, hold tight until NVIDIA expands compatibility.
NVIDIA is also sweetening the pot with a giveaway: follow the announced steps to enter for a chance to win a T.Flight HOTAS One and one month of GeForce NOW Ultimate.
Cloud hardware and the feel of flight
This isn't just a convenience play. Last year NVIDIA upgraded its GeForce NOW Ultimate servers with RTX 5080 GPUs, which can push very high-resolution streams and smooth framerates (NVIDIA touts up to 5K at 120 fps for capable setups). That GPU horsepower helps keep visuals crisp and latency low enough that delicate control inputs from a HOTAS feel responsive.
Cloud streaming is evolving — it's not merely about playing on low-power devices, it's about preserving the tactile experience of PC peripherals while offloading the heavy lifting to remote hardware. If you're interested in other cloud-streaming improvements and hardware that leans on the cloud, check how console streaming devices have started broadening their feature sets in services like the PlayStation Portal update[/news/playstation-portal-cloud-streaming-update].
What to watch for next
NVIDIA frames this as an iterative rollout: more peripherals will be supported and the company plans to keep tuning the experience. That means expect additional sticks, HOTAS rigs and perhaps more nuanced binding options over time. The presence of RTX-capable servers also opens the door for titles that lean on GPU features — improvements similar to what some modern PC launches are using to push visuals and performance in cloud or hybrid environments [/news/arc-raiders-launch-dlss4-embark].
Practical notes for pilots
A small step toward a particular kind of freedom
For many players, the joy of flight sims and space games is the physicality of the controls as much as the visuals: a throttle you can nudge, a stick that resists and recovers. GeForce NOW bringing that physical layer into the cloud narrows the gap between a high-end simulator rig and the person with a laptop or tablet. It's an incremental change, but one that opens the door to more authentic flying sessions from almost any device — provided NVIDIA keeps adding peripherals and polishing input fidelity.
If you want to try a stick without buying one outright, the current giveaway is a nice entry point. Otherwise, keep an eye on future updates as more flight hardware joins the cloud cockpit.