Nvidia stopped selling and renewing licenses for its cloud gaming software to Russian companies. It is reported by “Kommersant”.
Vitaly Starodubov, the founder of the Loudplay service (provides cloud gaming services based on Nvidia technologies), said that the developer no longer provides Russian companies with access to the Nvidia Grid system. This software is for splitting cores on a server graphics card. The newspaper noticed that Russian partners also disappeared from the Nvidia website. The company itself declined to comment.
The license allowed using a physical video card on several virtual machines at once. So, a large number of users could be connected to the cloud service at the same time. “For those companies that use the Nvidia Grid system to a greater extent, the termination of licenses will mean higher prices for services. So, if earlier the company could provide eight players at once from one server with two Nvidia Grid cards, now it can only provide two, ”explains Starodubov. Companies that have purchased large amounts of Nvidia hardware will now try to technologically bypass licensing checks, he said.
On March 6, Nvidia announced the suspension of the supply of its equipment to Russia due to the start of a Russian special operation in Ukraine. The Russian partner of the GeForce NOW gaming service company was GFN.ru, which is part of the SFI investment holding. GFN.ru cooperates with telecom operators such as MTS, Tele2 and Rostelecom. Previously, the service also worked with Megafon. But the operator clarified that he no longer has active projects using Nvidia products. GFN.ru did not comment on the situation. Nvidia technologies are also used by VK’s My Game Cloud. The corporation declined to comment.
Nvidia’s refusal to renew the software license may have a negative impact on the operation of the supercomputers of Yandex, MTS and Sberbank. However, according to a Kommersant source, Nvidia is in no hurry to leave the Russian IT market. Thus, MTS noted that the company’s decision will not affect the operation of services and the telecom operator’s supercomputer. A Yandex spokesperson also confirmed that Nvidia hardware “continues to operate as normal.” Sber declined to comment.