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Google CEO Sundar Pichai opened the Google GDC presentation today saying that Google is “Dead Serious” about video games.
Google has just announced their major video game streaming platform, Stadia. Stadia will use Google’s cloud technology and vast infrastructure to bring high fidelity game streaming to gamers everywhere. .
Sundar Pichai started off early explaining that through google, developers can give their games exposure at the highest levels. Unlike traditional set-top boxes or gaming consoles. Stadia is a streaming platform that won’t be limited to hardware or rigid specs, it will be a living breathing platform.
One of the main aims of Stadia is to “remove friction” in the gaming space for users and developers. With that in mind, users will be able to use their own controllers and stream their games on any screen that can access google chrome. That being said, they have developed their very own state of the art controller.
The Stadia controller features a capture button that uploads your gaming experience directly to youtube. It also has a google assistant button that allows players to speak into the built in microphone where they can access instant help for their games that will be built in by developers. One example they showed was someone being stuck on a puzzle in Rise of The Tomb Raider. Instead of looking up a video on how to solve it they asked the google assistant which brought up a video showed them the solution instantly on screen. The controller also has built in wifi that communicates directly google data servers for higher performance and lower input lag.
In another effort to “remove friction,” through Stadia’s cloud gaming platform, games will be instantly accessible for purchase and play through links that will be available on youtube videos, social media messages, and other areas around the Internet. An example described was a youtube viewer watching an ad for a game and then clicking a play now icon which would bring the game up in just 5 seconds, eliminating the lengthy load times that are ubiquitous in the current landscape after purchasing a new game.
Stadia boasts that it will be capable of delivering up to 4K resolution and 60 FPS gaming for players thanks to the cloud and their streaming servers. Eventually the platform will even be capable of delivering 8K 120FPS gaming. Stadia games will currently be running off of hardware that has 10.7 teraflops of power. That’s more powerful than both the Playstation 4 Pro (4.2) and the Xbox One X (6.0) combined. This eliminates the need for gamers to buy dedicated hardware such as a console or gaming pc to experience and own top tier AAA games.
It was also announced that Stadia games will feature full cross platform play and game saves along with progression will be instantly transferable and available wherever you access Stadia. How or if this will work with downloadable versions of PC games or console games was not made clear.
For developers, the Stadia data center will be their platform. They will no longer be hampered by strict console spec limitations. Google wants to enable developers to create the games of their imagination and with features like machine learning, flexible specifications, and the collosal google computing power infrastructure, developers will have myriad tools at their disposal.
Through their cloud gaming servers they showed off some of the unique benefits they can provide. Similar to Crackdown 3’s early tech demos, they showed off a virtual city that was fully destructible thanks to the power to the cloud. They also showed how couch co-op and split screen play can be very easily integrated into their games through a feature they call Steam Connect. Each screen runs on its own server instance. This allows players to view multiple screens and perspectives with ease. Instead of just having two seperate screens, they showed that they are capable of linking many screens through Stream Connect which is rare as games typically go up to 4 split screens.
In the later portion of the conference they brought out some of their development partners and talent. Doom Eternal was shown off at 4K 60 FPS. They also announced Google own first part game development studio, Stadia Games with new studio head, Jade Raymond. Raymond talked about how Stadia games will not only be developing their own games exclusive to the Stadia platform but they will also be working with other developers to help them create games.
Google is clearly positioning itself as a power house in the gaming space. Stadia is launching later this year and looks like it will go heads up against Microsoft and their own ambitious XCloud service that is also launching this year. I have dabbled in game streaming since the early days of On-Live and through to last year when I took part in the Stadia user test, project stream.
With that first hand experience I have seen the evolution of game streaming technology and Stadia is a massive performance and visual leap forward. I am firmly convinced that streaming has a major role in the future of gaming. Whether streaming will become the primary way we game or a supplementary one I don’t know, but the landscape of gaming is quickly changing and google is dead serious about becoming the go to platform of tomorrow. Exciting times are ahead.
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