While Google tried to play it off as a big secret, the search giant finally unveiled their long-awaited game streaming service today at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Officially known as Google Stadia, the service won’t require a console of any kind, and will instead offer game streaming through a large number of devices, including laptops, desktops, Chromecast dongles, and select phones and tablets.
According to Stadia’s official website, Google is promising the service will offer 4K resolution gaming with no lag, provided your Internet connection is powerful enough. Stadia will also hook up with the YouTube Gaming livestreaming platform, and players will theoretically be able to jump from watching a stream right into playing that same game “in seconds”:
- Game where you want, when you want – Play across multiple devices, including laptops, desktops, and select phones and tablets. (High speed internet connection required)
- New ways to play through YouTube and beyond – Go from watching a video to playing a game in seconds, with even more innovative experiences to come for select games.
- Up to 4K HDR at 60 FPS – Enjoy gaming the way you love, with beautiful HDR graphics and smooth frame rates. (4K HDR at 60 FPS are dependent on your bandwidth. Gameplay experience may vary based on quality of internet connection.)
- Play instantly – No updates, no downloads. Jump right into the game.
- Always getting better – Stadia’s cloud based infrastructure evolves to meet the demands of players, developers, and YouTube creators.
On the surface, Google Stadia will offer a lot of the same features as Sony’s PlayStation Now streaming service, but it’ll have its own unique set of bells and whistles to make it stand out.
Google Stadia will be controllable with compatible third-party controllers on a PC, but players will also have the option of using the official Stadia Controller. Closely resembling a standard Xbox One controller, Google’s gadget will include an Instant Capture button for streaming to YouTube, a Google Assistant button powered by a built-in microphone, and a direct wi-fi connection to whatever device you’re using.
But what games will you be able to play on Google Stadia? That’s a bit of a question mark. So far, only Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey and id Software’s Doom Eternal are confirmed to be coming to the platform. Additional games, which will be exclusive to the platform, will be produced by the company’s new Stadia Games & Entertainment division, which will be lead by Jade Raymond.
It’s currently unknown if Google will sell individual games through Stadia or offer a monthly subscription to access the service’s entire library or some combination of both. But we do know that it’s currently scheduled to launch sometime in 2019.
