Video game enthusiasts have reacted with excitement to Google’s announcement that it would expand its offering to include a cloud-based games streaming service.
The long-rumoured service is a literal game-changer in the video-gaming industry, with the world’s largest tech company promising users a lag-free gaming experience (a fast internet connection will obviously help with this), with all the action being streamed to gamers instantaneously.
What makes Stadia different to other gaming platforms?
Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai unveiled Stadia at the annual Games Development Conference in San Francisco on 19 March. Stadia is different from competing gaming platforms because it doesn’t require users to invest in additional devices or controllers.
Speaking at GDC, Pichai announced that it would be introducing its own Stadia controller, but that using it wouldn’t be a requirement to play on the platform.
“We are starting our next big challenge: building a game platform for everyone. I think we can change the game by bringing together the power and creativity of the entire community, people who love to play games, people who love to watch games, and people who love to build games.”
“There is no box. The data centre is your platform,” said Google Vice President (and a former Microsoft and Sony executive) Phil Harrison.
Stadia will be competing against the biggest names in the gaming industry, including Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, and will also venture into the games distribution industry, games streaming services like Twitch, as well as launching its own games in order to compete with existing games publishers.
Stadia is expected to launch later this year, and will charge users a monthly subscription fee for the use of the platform. Already being called the “Netflix of games”, experts expect that it will change the gaming industry forever.
Check out the video about Stadia below.