Stadia
Stadia is a cloud gaming service operated by Google. It is advertised to be capable of streaming video games up to 4K resolution at 60 frames per second with support for high-dynamic-range, to players via the company's numerous data centers across the globe, provided they are using a sufficiently high-speed Internet connection. It is accessible through the Google Chrome web browser on desktop computers, Pixel smartphones, supported smartphones from Samsung, Razer and Asus[1], as well as Chrome OS tablets and Chromecast.[2]
The service is planned to be integrated with YouTube, and its "state share" feature will allow viewers of a Stadia stream to launch a game on the service on the same save state as the streamer. This has been used as a selling point for the service. It is compatible with HID class USB controllers, though a proprietary controller manufactured by Google with a direct Wi-Fi link to data centers is available alongside the service. Stadia is not similar to Netflix, in that it requires users to purchase games to stream via Stadia rather than pay for access to a library of games. While the base service will be free, a Pro tier monthly subscription allows users to stream at higher rates for larger resolutions, and the offer to add free games to their library.
Known in development as Project Stream, the service was debuted through a closed beta running Assassin's Creed Odyssey in October 2018. Stadia was publicly released on November 19, 2019 in selected countries and received a mixed reception from reviewers. The service competes with Sony's PlayStation Now service, Nvidia's GeForce Now, and Microsoft's Project xCloud. On 8 April, 2020 Google started rolling out Stadia free base service, along with giving new users two months of Pro subscription.
Features
Stadia is a cloud gaming service,[3] and does not require additional computer hardware, only requiring the device to have an Internet connection and support for Google Chrome. Stadia works atop YouTube's functionality in streaming media to the user, as game streaming is seen as an extension of watching video game live streams, according to Google's Phil Harrison; the name "Stadia", the Latin plural of "stadium", is meant to reflect that it is a collection of entertainment, which the viewer can choose to sit back and watch, or take an active part in.[4] As Google had built out a large number of data centers across the globe, the company believes that Stadia is in a better position for cloud gaming compared to past endeavours like OnLive, PlayStation Now, and Gaikai, as most players would be geographically close to a data center. Stadia supports the streaming of games in HDR at 60 frames per second with 4K resolution, and anticipates eventually reaching 120 frames per second at 8K resolution.[4] Players can start games without having to download new content to their personal device. Players can opt to record or stream their sessions onto YouTube through Stadia. Viewers of such streams can launch the games directly from the stream with the same save state that they were just watching.[4]
The streaming technology enables new features on Stadia. Stream Connect allows Stadia players, cooperatively playing the same game with friends, to have picture-in-picture inserts on their display of their friends' point-of-view in the game. This feature was first launched with the release of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint.[5] The streaming technology allows for larger number of concurrent players on a game server; for example, servers for Grid are normally limited to 16 players, while the Stadia version will allow up to 40.[6]
While Stadia can use any HID-class USB controller, Google developed its own controller which connects via Wi-Fi directly to the Google data center in which the game is running, to reduce input latency.[4] Google is also exploring further ways to reduce latency, using an idea called "negative latency" which involves prediction of user input through various means so that any apparent network lag between controller and game response is minimized.[7] During its GDC 2019 keynote reveal, Google confirmed that the controller would also feature Google Assistant, which will automatically search YouTube for relevant, helpful videos related to the game they are currently playing at the touch of a key.[8]
Stadia offers two tiers of service, a free Base level and a monthly subscription Pro level. The Pro tier costs approximately US$10 per month, but allows users to access higher streaming rates, access a library of free games over time, and get discounts on other games offered for Stadia.[9] Harrison stated they are also looking into offering publisher subscriptions and other models in the future;[10] for example, Ubisoft announced its Uplay Plus subscription service will be available to Stadia users.
The internet speed requirements for the different types of picture quality from Stadia's service is as follows:
Hardware
Upon launch, Stadia's cloud hardware initially uses a custom Intel[13] x86 processor clocked at 2.7 GHz, with AVX2 and 9.5 megabytes of L2+L3 cache.[14] It also uses a custom AMD GPU based on the Vega architecture with HBM2 memory, 56 compute units, and 10.7 teraFLOPS.[14][15] The service also has solid-state drive storage, and 16 GB of RAM (supporting up to 484 GB/s bandwidth) shared between the GPU and the CPU.[14]
Google developed the controller for Stadia. The controller includes two thumbsticks, a directional pad, four main face buttons, two sets of shoulder buttons, and five additional controller face buttons. The controller has the capability of connection over a wireless network, rather than through the device that the user is playing on, as to reduce the latency of controller communication with Stadia services. The controller is available in a variation of four colors at its launch.[9]
Stadia initially launched in November 19, 2019 with a Founder's Pack, which included a Chromecast Ultra, a Stadia controller, three months of Pro service, and an additional three months of Pro service to gift to a friend.[9][16]
The service was expanded to several Samsung Galaxy, Razer Phone and ASUS ROG Phone devices in February 2020.
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