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Immersive Stream for Games is the new white label version of Google Stadia

We're not entirely sure Immersive Stream for Games rolls off the tongue well, but that's what Google is moving forward with.

TJ Denzer

March 21, 2022 10:00 AM

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Stadia has… not had a great go of it. Despite its unique offerings to cloud gaming technology, the cloud based gaming platform has never done as well as Google wanted it to do. That led up to concerns that Google was about to shelve Stadia once and for all. Well, that’s not entirely the case. It would appear that Google is moving towards a new business partner-centered use of the technology and it has a name: Immersive Stream for Games.

Google announced the Immersive Stream for Games white label version of Stadia during the recent Game Developers Summit, as reported by GamesIndustry.biz. The brand is reportedly a collaboration between the remaining Google Stadia team and the Google Cloud division of the company, making the technology available commercially to various partners and businesses. AT&T is one of the groups to have taken advantage of it, having launched a Cloud version of Batman: Arkham Knight in October 2021 as an exclusive incentive for AT&T Wireless customers.

There was recent word that Google Stadia’s future was in peril due to the platforms poor to lukewarm performance and reception. Reportedly, Google had been pitching the technology to a number of prospective partners such as Capcom, Bungie, and Peloton under the name of Google Stream. At the very least, Google has moved towards deprioritizing the Stadia brand as it moves towards a more business-heavy direction with the technology. Immersive Stream for Games is the culmination of those rumors. Google also recently announced an update for Stadia that will include opening the service’s storefront to all customers regardless of whether or not they have a Stadia account.

Either way, Google looks like it’s doing anything in its power to salvage the opportunities presented by its Stadia technology. Whether Immersive Stream for Games turns out to be the answer remains to be seen, but at this point, it may end up being one of the only relevant ways Stadia continues to exist at all.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.