It’s been rumored for some time, but today at its GDC keynote, Google finally revealed its masterplan for entering the wider video game business.
The platform, named ‘Stadia’ will be a streaming system that allows you to instantly play and stream games with high-end specs (4K, 60FPS now, 8K when applicable) from your TV, laptop, PC, tablet, or phone by simply clicking on a link (from almost anywhere). It features no actual console box, but it does have its own controller (though other controllers will work too). The Stadia controller has an instant streaming button to YouTube, and a Google Assistant button for help on the game you’re playing.
Developers will be able to work without limitations of the hardware, which in theory means less sacrifice on their vision.
Id Software announced Doom Eternal will be a launch title for the platform.
A big feature of the platform is State Share, where players can essentially give others a save state of the game they’re playing as a challenge for others to overcome. So imagine throwing an open challenge for your friends to escape Mr. X in Resident Evil 2 in red health and no herbs or ammo.
Still, plenty of questions about how this will all work out in the wild, especially given how intense a 4K game being stream perfectly will be on your internet, and the pricing is still up in the air, but there’s no denying the potential is huge.
Google will discuss the launch lineup and more details this Summer.
Sound interesting?