consoles, the service will store gameplay
sessions in the cloud, so users can start a session
on their phone and then move over to a TV or
desktop to continue their gameplay. It’s one of
the most interesting cross-platform experiences
to date, sparking serious interest amongst those
in gaming communities. Whilst the company
didn’t say exactly how much their new service
will cost, Google has promised features like 4K
HDR at 60 FPS performance and a cloud-
based infrastructure that evolves to meet the
demands of players. Integrated with YouTube,
gamers will be able to stream their sessions
live to millions of potential followers, and with
no updates or downloads, they will always
be playing the latest, up-to-date version of
their game - no patches or long update waits
before diving into a game. Reporting Stadia’s
announcement, The Verge said the service
“looks like an early beta of the future of
gaming” but added that “if you’re not near a
big city where Google’s data centers are located,
then you won’t get the most ideal experience,”
which could give some gamers an unfair
advantage, especially in competitive games
where performance is critical to success.
Google isn’t the only major player attempting
to claw some market share from the likes of
Twitch and Steam - Intel Capital just offered
a $12m investment to Google’s new gaming
cloud streaming rival, Polystream, which is “the
visual cloud realized,” according to a press
release. That’s on top of the work Steam has
been doing to create more cross-platform
experiences, with new rumors and beta
updates suggesting more cross-play with
gaming consoles such as the Xbox.