Today after much speculation and hinting, Google finally unveiled Stadia, their ambitious new game streaming service. Google promises to deliver up to 10.7 teraflops of gaming power available on any screen, innovative YouTube integration, and a variety of in-game features made available by the cloud, but what about the games? It doesn’t matter how innovative a platform is, it’s not much use without games!
Related Stadia Is Google’s Cloud Based Game Platform; Powered by AMD, Linux and Vulkan, Due in 2019
Google didn’t go too heavy on the game announcements (they’re promising more this summer), but a few key titles were confirmed. Most exciting was the announcement that Doom Eternal will be coming to Stadia. Google tested their streaming tech last year with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, but that game is a slower-paced RPG – many wondered how Google’s platform would work with a more-demanding twitch-action experience. Well, according to id Software’s Marty Stratton, Stadia and shooters are a good match…
“If you’re going to prove to the world that you can stream games from the cloud, what better proof than Doom? […] It didn’t take us more than a few weeks to get Doom Eternal looking and playing great on Stadia. […] We couldn’t be happier to be bringing Doom Eternal to Stadia, and are thrilled to announce the game will be capable of running at true 4K resolution, with HDR, at an unrelenting 60fps.”
A number of other games were glimpsed during the presentation, including (of course) Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, NBA 2K19, and Trials Rising. Additionally, Tequila Works (Rime) and Q-Games (the PixelJunk series) revealed they’re working on exclusive Stadia experiences.
Speaking of which, Google also announced new first-party studio Stadia Games and Entertainment. The studio will be headed up by Jade Raymond (producer of Assassin’s Creed and Star Wars Battlefront II) and will create original games both in-house and in collaboration with outside studios. According to Raymond, Stadia development kits have already been sent out to over 100 developers, with a lot more likely going out after GDC!
Overall, Stadia seems fairly promising from a software standpoint. Google didn’t blow us away with game announcements, but the fact that Doom Eternal works with Stadia is a big deal, and I think we can expect plenty of support from Ubisoft, Bethesda, 2K Games, and Square Enix. It will also be interesting to see what kind of dedicated experiences Jade Raymond and her team can build.
What do you think? Impressed by Stadia? Which games would you like to see supported?
