Published , by Josh Hawkins
Published , by Josh Hawkins
During today’s Google Keynote at GDC 2019, Google revealed Google Stadia, a new streaming service that will make it much easier for gamers to enjoy new, high quality games without a powerhouse of a computer. While the original presentation left us with a lot of questions, more about the game streaming technology is finally coming out. Here’s what we know so far.
What makes Google Stadia so intriguing is so much of what Google is promising will be available with the tech. Not only will it allow game streaming on devices like Chromebooks, cellphones, or any other Chrome-enabled device, but Stadia will also support cross-platform multiplayer and several other really nice features like seamless play between devices.
On top of all the features listed above, Google is also aiming to deliver gaming at 4K quality at 60 frames per second. That’s a bold claim to make when it comes to streaming video games, and it isn’t an especially easy one to pull off. Thankfully, Google has some heavy hardware under the hood here. Google Stadia will be powered by the following specifications:
While the specs above are definitely something worth boasting about, what’s even more appealing is the fact that developers will be able to stack more than one together, allowing them to virtually make a super computer to run their creations. Digital Foundry recently had a chance to sit down with Google Stadia, where they were able to get some reads on the system’s overall performance.
According to Digital Foundry, they were able to measure Google Stadia at roughly 166.67ms while using a Pixelbook connected to wifi. Of course, this was all taken with the latest version of Stadia available right now, so things might change a little over the coming months as we move closer to Stadia’s full release to consumer.
It should be noted, though, that this was not a test controlled by Digital Foundry. Which means the results might be a bit skewed. Still, though, it’s something worth investigating if you’re interested in seeing how Stadia stands up to current-gen consoles, especially given the boasts and claims that Google has made.
We’ll update this article as more solidified information becomes available for Google Stadia's specifcations. For now, be sure to check out the rest of our GDC 2019 coverage for more of the latest news from the conference.