Google has unveiled a video-game streaming platform called Stadia that attempts to capitalize on the company’s cloud technology and a global network of data centers. Google announced this at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. The platform as stated will store a game-playing session in the cloud and lets players jump across devices. It’s set to make any device that can run Chrome an actual gaming console capable of producing 10.7 teraflops per instance.
The technology allows gamers to play games through their internet browser or YouTube-like online gaming without waiting for the game to be downloaded to a device hence making it easier for gamers to access the content as quickly as watching a video from YouTube.
Google Stadia is basically all about making games more accessible. Playing a high-end game right now involves buying expensive dedicated hardware and controllers and even waiting through lengthy downloads. Stadia will help developers surface titles in Google search, the Play Store, and other locations. Then, you’re just a click away from launching the game. Google says it can take as little as five seconds to get playing.
Google gaming platform Stadia might take on the traditional industry just like movies and music, the conventional video-game industry has been evolving from physical hardware and games to digital downloads and streaming. Video-game streaming typically requires a secure connection and more computing power than directly streaming video. Google says it is leveraging to control the system.
Google has also revealed what hardware its Stadia data centers would be running. The company has announced that Stadia will be using 16GB RAM up to 484GB/s of performance, a custom AMD GPU with high bandwidth memory (HBM2), and 56 compute units.
Google didn’t reveal its new service cost, whether it will offer subscriptions or other options, or what games will be available at launch. It is noted that Stadia would be accessible in late 2019 in the US, Canada, UK, and Europe.