Myth and Mystery Await: GeForce NOW Brings ‘South of Midnight’ to the Cloud at Launch

Myth and Mystery Await: GeForce NOW Brings ‘South of Midnight’ to the Cloud at Launch

Get ready to explore the Deep South. South of Midnight, the action-adventure game from Compulsion Games, launches today on GeForce NOW. Following last week’s launch of Advanced Access in the cloud, GeForce NOW members can now pick up where they left off or dive into the adventure for the first time.

It leads six games available in the cloud this week.

Plus, catch the newest update from Epic Games’ Fortnite and miHoYo’s Honkai: Star Rail v3.2, just in time to celebrate the game’s second anniversary.

Unleash the Magic

South of Midnight, a captivating third-person action-adventure game, is set against the backdrop of a Gothic fantasy version of the American Deep South. Step into the shoes of Hazel, a young woman who embarks on a journey to find her missing mother and discovers her unique abilities as a Weaver — a magical individual who can mend broken bonds and spirits. Throughout her quest, Hazel encounters intriguing mythical creatures inspired by Southern folklore, explores surreal landscapes and unravels deep family secrets.

South of Midnight on GeForce NOW
Where every shadow has a story — and possibly teeth.

Blending mesmerizing visuals with innovative gameplay mechanics, South of Midnight combines traditional action-adventure elements with Souls-like combat and strategic spellcasting. Players use Hazel’s Weaver powers — such as Push, Pull and Weave — to tactically engage formidable enemies known as Haints, navigate challenging scenarios and solve intricate puzzles.

GeForce NOW members can jump straight into South of Midnight and be among the first to play by skipping the hassle of downloads or updates. Experience Hazel’s journey facing cryptid encounters with buttery-smooth frame rates and ultra-low latency — all without needing the latest hardware — using an Ultimate or Performance membership. Stream the magic, dodge the Haints and weave through this mythical adventure instantly in the cloud.

Everybody Jump

GeForce NOW members can jump right into games without waiting for patches or downloads, whether for a seasonal update or the latest in-game event. This week, Fortnite and Honkai: Star Rail fans can dive into plenty of new content from the cloud.

Fortnite Season 8 on GeForce NOW
Please, please, please don’t miss this latest update.

Global superstar and two-time GRAMMY award winner Sabrina Carpenter takes center stage in Fortnite Festival season eight with her eccentric brand of pop. Unlock her outfit, along with her “Juno” and “Nonsense” Jam Tracks, through the Music Pass or Shop. The Music Pass offers a mix of free and premium rewards for just 1,400 V-Bucks or through Fortnite Crew, with XP earned across all Fortnite modes.

Honkai Star Rail V3.2 on GeForce NOW
Anniversary celebrations begin.

The latest update in the cloud is Honkai: Star Rail Version 3.2, which celebrates the game’s second anniversary. There are two new five-star characters — Castorice and Anaxa  — and players can experience anniversary-themed events like “Star Rail WORLD” and a Light Cone giveaway. The update also introduces a revamped banner system for better character pull customization, as well as reruns of fan-favorite characters and challenging new events that bring fresh bosses and gameplay mechanics.

Time to Celebrate 

Commandos Origins on GeForce NOW
There’s no “I” in team.

Commandos: Origins is launching in the cloud this week for members to stream. Head on a mission that’ll shape the fate of the entire world, and witness the beginning of a legendary elite World War II force. The long-awaited sequel to the Commandos series brings players back to the foundations of the real-time tactics genre and the days of Jack O’Hara, aka the Green Beret, and his five companions, completing missions no others would dare to accept.

From the icy plains of the Arctic and the vast deserts of Africa to the western coastlines of Europe and the Eastern front, lead commandos to success in high-risk missions, guiding them in their fight for a free world.

Look for the following games available to stream in the cloud this week:

  • South of Midnight (New release on Steam and Xbox, available on PC Game Pass, April 8)
  • Commandos: Origins (New release on Steam and Xbox, available on PC Game Pass, April 9)
  • The Talos Principle: Reawakened (New release on Steam, April 10)
  • Backrooms: Escape Together (Steam)
  • Diablo III (Xbox, available on PC Game Pass)
  • Sultan’s Game (Steam)

To stream supported Battle.net games from PC Game Pass on GeForce NOW, including this week’s addition of Diablo III, read the knowledge article.

What are you planning to play this weekend? Let us know on X or in the comments below.

Read More

(AI)ways a Cut Above: GeForce RTX 50 Series Accelerates New DaVinci Resolve 20 Studio Video Editing Software

(AI)ways a Cut Above: GeForce RTX 50 Series Accelerates New DaVinci Resolve 20 Studio Video Editing Software

As AI-powered tools continue to evolve, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series and NVIDIA RTX PRO GPUs, based on the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture, are driving faster, smarter creative workflows.

Blackmagic Design’s public beta release of DaVinci Resolve Studio 20 software puts new capabilities and a suite of RTX-accelerated AI-powered features into the hands of video editors, helping automate tedious tasks and accelerate creative workflows. Backed by the latest version of the NVIDIA TensorRT software development kit, these features run faster and more efficiently on RTX GPUs. Additional updates include support for 4:2:2 color formats and AV1 ultra-high-quality encoding.

In addition, the April NVIDIA Studio Driver, designed to optimize creative apps, will be available for download next week. For automatic Studio Driver notifications, as well as easy access to applications like NVIDIA Broadcast, download the NVIDIA App.

For artists and creators looking to experiment with generative AI workflows, Black Forest Labs’ FLUX.1-dev is now available as an NVIDIA NIM microservice — making it easy to deploy and scale across RTX-powered systems. FLUX.1-dev is a text-to-image generation model suite that enables users to generate high-quality, photorealistic visuals using text prompts and image inputs — optimized for peak performance on NVIDIA RTX and RTX PRO GPUs.

With support for FP4 compute, the FLUX.1-dev NIM microservice delivers up to 2x performance, over 4x faster generation on high-end GPUs and a 60% reduction in memory requirements compared with FP16 models. This means faster outputs, more creative iterations and broader accessibility across a wider range of RTX AI PCs and RTX PRO AI workstations.

AI-Assisted Video Editing

DaVinci Resolve Studio 20 beta delivers over 100 new professional-grade video features, including an array of AI tools and effects to speed up productivity. It also now integrates the latest version of NVIDIA TensorRT, optimizing AI performance for creative workloads.

GeForce RTX 50 Series and RTX PRO GPUs — powered by the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture and fifth-generation Tensor Cores — accelerate AI features that enhance creative workflows in video editing and post-production.

Take UltraNR Noise Reduction, an AI-driven noise reduction mode that intelligently targets and reduces digital noise in video footage to maintain image clarity while minimizing softening, especially in images with motion. UltraNR Noise Reduction runs up to 75% faster on the GeForce RTX 5090 GPU than the previous generation.

As part of the beta update, Magic Mask is an AI-powered feature that enables users to quickly and accurately select and track objects, people or features within a scene, simplifying the process of creating masks and effects. Magic Mask v2 adds a paint brush to further adjust masking selections for more accurate and faster workflows.

Among the latest RTX-accelerated AI features are AI IntelliScript, which auto-generates timelines based on original project scripts; AI Animated Subtitles, which syncs animated text to spoken words; and AI Multicam Smartswitch, which intelligently selects camera angles by detecting speakers.

Explore more AI effects in the beta update, which can be downloaded from Blackmagic Design support and is available at no charge for existing customers with DaVinci Resolve Studio 20.

Prompt, Set, Render With the FLUX.1-dev NIM Microservice

Image-generation models — a standout application of generative AI — can translate natural language into high-quality visuals across a wide range of styles. These models are transforming creative workflows, from storyboarding to concept art, by turning ideas into stunning imagery in just seconds.

The challenge is that these models are large and can be slow to run. Users often have to use optimized models or plug-ins to achieve faster inferencing — but getting all the bits and pieces needed to run the models at the best speed possible can be hard.

NVIDIA NIM microservices make it easier for creators and AI enthusiasts to get the full performance of their GPU in these models. NIM packages optimized generative AI models with everything needed to run them as fast as possible on RTX AI PCs and RTX PRO AI workstations.

One of the latest NIM microservices, Black Forest Labs’ FLUX.1-dev, demonstrates what’s possible with RTX-accelerated image generation. FLUX.1-dev includes a collection of models:

  • FLUX.1-dev, which generates images from text prompts
  • FLUX.1-Depth-dev, which adds depth map guidance for more structure and spatial control
  • FLUX.1-Canny-dev, which uses canny edge detection to define shapes and composition more precisely
Prompt to FLUX.1-dev “Close-up of a siamese cat with delicate gold ink flowing over it, forming intricate patterns as it drips down, the gold glowing faintly in the soft light, style is minimalist and abstract, lighting is low-key with glowing highlights, gold ink textures, soft flow, intricate patterns, intimate composition.” Source NVIDIA

Optimized for NVIDIA hardware, the FLUX.1-dev NIM microservice delivers up to 2x performance with TensorRT and support for Blackwell FP4 and NVIDIA Ada FP8 precision — making it ideal for everything from concept art to pre-visualization for post-production.

Edit Like a Pro With 4:2:2

The 4:2:2 color format delivers huge quality benefits over creating in 4:2:0 and is highly sought after by professional video editors, presenting 2x the color information while only increasing raw file sizes by 30%.

With the additional color information, video editors gain improved color grading accuracy, increased flexibility during color correction and enhanced chroma keying while letting creators work with smaller files, maximizing efficiency and quality.

DaVinci Resolve Studio 20 beta has added support for hardware-accelerated 4:2:2 encoding and decoding on GeForce RTX 50 Series and RTX PRO Blackwell GPUs — and comes at a time where 4:2:2 is becoming more available in consumer cameras. Now, creators can shoot footage, import it quickly into their DaVinci Resolve projects and export their finished project in 4:2:2 color.

422 video cameras are on the rise—while prices take a dive. Creators have more camera options than ever at lower entry points.

DaVinci Resolve 20 beta takes full advantage of the additional hardware decoders found in GeForce RTX 5080 and 5090 GPUs, as well as RTX PRO 6000, 5000, 4500 and 4000 Blackwell GPUs — now with support for 4:2:2. For example, with the RTX 5080 and 5090, creators can import 5x 8K30 or 20x 4K30 streams at once, or 9x 4K60 to do multi-camera editing and preview every angle without stutters. And with the RTX PRO 6000, this is boosted up to 10x 8K30 or 40x 4K30 streams.

When it’s time to export, video editors that use the GeForce RTX 50 Series ninth-generation NVIDIA video encoder can get a 5% improvement in video quality on HEVC and AV1 encoding (BD-BR), resulting in higher-quality exports at the same bitrates. Plus, a new Ultra High Quality (UHQ) mode available in the latest Blackwell encoder boosts quality by an additional 5%.

Finally, DaVinci Resolve Studio 20 beta adds support for three-way split-frame encoding — a technique where an input frame is divided into three parts, each processed by a different NVENC encoder. GeForce RTX 5090 Desktop and Laptop GPUs include three NVENC modules each, leading to significantly faster encoding speeds — more than 37% faster than the last generation.

Plug in to NVIDIA AI PC on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X — and stay informed by subscribing to the RTX AI PC newsletter.

Follow NVIDIA Workstation on LinkedIn and X. See notice regarding software product information.

Read More

NVIDIA Celebrates Partners of the Year Advancing AI in Europe, Middle East and Africa

NVIDIA Celebrates Partners of the Year Advancing AI in Europe, Middle East and Africa

NVIDIA this week recognized the contributions of partners in Europe, the Middle East and Africa at the annual EMEA Partner Day hosted by the NVIDIA Partner Network (NPN). 

Fourteen awards spanned eight categories. The recipients were honored for their outstanding efforts, dedication and innovative spirit in using NVIDIA technologies.

The 2025 NPN award categories and winners are:

Go-to-Market Excellence

Swisscom was honored with the Go-to-Market Excellence award for its Swiss AI Platform, which helps address the challenges of industries spanning financial services, government, high-performance computing and enterprise, as well as the growing need for sovereign AI. 

Swisscom’s successful marketing efforts included a digital “30 days of AI” campaign and a robust business-to-business sales campaign. Launched in just eight months, the platform onboarded several customers within two months of its launch, showcasing remarkable speed and execution. 

Industry Innovation

EDAG Group was recognized with the Industry Innovation award for its innovative platform that enables customers to create advanced industrial metaverse applications and digital twins. Key features of the platform, which is built with NVIDIA Omniverse, include data-driven decision-making, virtual training, quality assurance at the component level and AI-powered project management. These resulted in improved collaboration, increased efficiency and reduced costs for customers.

Consulting Partner of the Year

Deloitte was awarded the Consulting Partner of the Year award for creating customer success stories across EMEA. By combining its industry expertise and AI implementation capabilities with NVIDIA technologies, Deloitte has driven demand through digital marketing and events, engaging early adopters in pioneering use cases like sovereign AI infrastructure and long-term severe weather forecasting. 

Deloitte serves a diverse portfolio of clients — spanning finance, government, energy and retail — and has made substantial progress in training and certifying its team, building showcases that serve as crucial accelerators in client projects.

Software Distributor of the Year

TD SYNNEX was named the Software Distributor of the Year. Recognizing the critical role of software in NVIDIA’s full-stack technologies, TD SYNNEX developed the NATALA Tool, which offers resellers and customers a unique, personalized model to consume NVIDIA AI Enterprise software. This significantly contributed to the organization’s exceptional revenue performance in software.

Distributor of the Year

PNY received the Distributor of the Year award for achieving stellar revenue across EMEA in the past year, making significant contributions to the growth of NVIDIA’s partner ecosystem across the region.

Rising Star

Rising Star awards honor partners with the greatest revenue growth over the past year. The winners for each region are:

  • Northern Europe: Computacenter UK
  • Central Europe: Swisscom
  • Southern Europe and the Middle East: 2CRSi

Star Performer

Star Performer awards recognize partners demonstrating excellence in sales across the entire NVIDIA portfolio. The winners for each region are:

  • Northern Europe: Vesper Technologies
  • Central Europe: Amber AI & Data Science Solutions
  • Southern Europe and the Middle East: Solutions by STC

Star Performer, Software

The Star Performer, Software awards celebrate partners dedicated to selling NVIDIA’s full-stack technologies, with a focus on software. The winners for each region are:

  • Northern Europe: WWT
  • Central Europe: Amber AI & Data Science Solutions
  • Southern Europe and the Middle East: Computacenter France​​

Learn how to join the NPN, or find a local NPN partner.

Read More

The AdEMAMix Optimizer: Better, Faster, Older

Momentum based optimizers are central to a wide range of machine learning applications. These typically rely on an Exponential Moving Average (EMA) of gradients, which decays exponentially the present contribution of older gradients. This accounts for gradients being local linear approximations which lose their relevance as the iterate moves along the loss landscape. This work questions the use of a single EMA to accumulate past gradients and empirically demonstrates how this choice can be sub-optimal: a single EMA cannot simultaneously give a high weight to the immediate past, and a…Apple Machine Learning Research

Task-Adaptive Pretrained Language Models via Clustered-Importance Sampling

Specialist language models (LMs) focus on a specific task or domain on which they often outperform generalist LMs of the same size. However, the specialist data needed to pretrain these models is only available in limited amount for most tasks. In this work, we build specialist models from large generalist training sets instead. We adjust the training distribution of the generalist data with guidance from the limited domain-specific data. We explore several approaches, with clustered importance sampling standing out. This method clusters the generalist dataset and samples from these clusters…Apple Machine Learning Research

Simple ReFlow: Improved Techniques for Fast Flow Models

Diffusion and flow-matching models achieve remarkable generative performance but at the cost of many sampling steps, this slows inference and limits applicability to time-critical tasks. The ReFlow procedure can accelerate sampling by straightening generation trajectories. However, ReFlow is an iterative procedure, typically requiring training on simulated data, and results in reduced sample quality. To mitigate sample deterioration, we examine the design space of ReFlow and highlight potential pitfalls in prior heuristic practices. We then propose seven improvements for training dynamics…Apple Machine Learning Research

MircoNN: An On-device Disk Resident Updatable Vector Database

Nearest neighbour search over dense vector collections has important applications in information retrieval, retrieval augmented generation (RAG), and content ranking. Performing efficient search over large vector collections is a well studied problem with many existing approaches and open source implementations. However, most state-of-the-art systems are generally targeted towards scenarios using large servers with an abundance of memory, static vector collections that are not updatable, and nearest neighbour search in isolation of other search criteria. We present Micro Nearest Neighbour…Apple Machine Learning Research

Do LLMs Know Internally When They Follow Instructions?

Instruction-following is crucial for building AI agents with large language models (LLMs), as these models must adhere strictly to user-provided constraints and guidelines. However, LLMs often fail to follow even simple and clear instructions. To improve instruction-following behavior and prevent undesirable outputs, a deeper understanding of how LLMs’ internal states relate to these outcomes is required. In this work, we investigate whether LLMs encode information in their representations that correlates with instruction-following success—a property we term “knowing internally”. Our analysis…Apple Machine Learning Research

RelCon: Relative Contrastive Learning for a Motion Foundation Model for Wearable Data

We present RelCon, a novel self-supervised Relative Contrastive learning approach for training a motion foundation model from wearable accelerometry sensors. First, a learnable distance measure is trained to capture motif similarity and domain-specific semantic information such as rotation invariance. Then, the learned distance provides a measurement of semantic similarity between a pair of accelerometry time-series, which we use to train our foundation model to model relative relationships across time and across subjects. The foundation model is trained on 1 billion segments from 87,376…Apple Machine Learning Research