Matti Robinson
20 Mar 2019 13:07
Google has revealed that it is introducing a new gaming service to the public later this year. The service called Stadia offer games as streamable content to all screens.
The search giant's new service isn't really anything new in the gaming sector. Services like OnLive, Nvidia's GeForce Now, and others already offer a cloud gaming service. Google plans to expand the experience to more screens, and with some impressive specs.
According to them, everyone with a Chromecast, or even a Chrome browser, could play the newest games in 4K and 60 fps. This includes graphics intensive games like Doom Eternal in HDR.
The company compared the processing power dedicated to player to PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X. In fact, they said that the 10.7 teraflots beats both, even combined, since PS2 Pro calculates at the speed of 4.2 teraflops and Xbox One X at around six.
Google also announced partnership with AMD which has developed a chip for Google's data centers. This allows the closest possible location to deliver gamers the performance they need.
Being close is probably the toughest problem for game streaming platforms. You cannot have too high of a latency, especially in action-packed games. There is no word how they are going to tackle the problem, except relying on extensive data center network.
Google even said that in the future you could upgrade to 8K resolution and to 120 frames per second, which would make it more optimal for even the fastest paced first-person shooters competitively.
There's no word on what kind of games will be available at launch and if you need to buy them separately. Google has used Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Doom Eternal as examples though.
At launch Stadia will support desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones without the need of proprietary hardware boxes or any additional hardware. The service will launch some time this year in USA, Canada and UK.