Google has now entered one more segment within the internet-based services segment with an online gaming platform called Stadia. It must be clarified that it is not a new gaming console or hardware that has been launched by Google. This is purely cloud-based, and customers need to simply click on a “Play Now” button. There will be provisions for sound and Google Assistant that will be deployed to good effect. Though the announcement has been made now, Stadia may go live only in the third or fourth quarter of this year.
To begin with, devices operating on the Chrome OS like Chromebooks and Google Chrome browser will have this feature on their devices. It may be made universal later about which no clarity exists now.
Another factor to be clarified from the company is if this will be a paid subscription or free to play gaming platform. It has however been made clear that users in only limited geographies may get to enjoy this gaming service. These include the US, Canada, the UK and some European countries.
The company held a demo showing two games, “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” and “Doom Eternal” being played. This was at a Game Developers’ Conference in San Francisco. The details of the other games to be included in Stadia have not been disclosed yet.
The future of gaming is not a box. It's a place.
— Stadia (@GoogleStadia) March 19, 2019
This is Stadia. One place for all the ways we play → https://t.co/v2jJTUWkYz pic.twitter.com/LlIHbjigDR
Though, as a business, Google’s Stadia will take on established players like Microsoft with the Xbox and Sony with its PlayStation, Google says its gaming platform will in no way threaten these players.
One unique aspect of the model being proposed by Google for Stadia has come from acclaim. There is a provision for the player on Stadia to livestream his/her game on YouTube. This could become the revenue model too for the company, though nothing on this has been stated so far. Google says it has been working on this project for over 4 years now.
With no investment required to buy a gaming console and with the ‘anytime-anywhere’ availability, Stadia may catch on with the consuming public quite rapidly.