Google has announced a new project that they have been working on. It’s called ‘Project Stream’, and it looks incredible. As you have probably guessed—seeing as we only ever talk about gaming news, unlike other ‘gaming’ websites—this new service isn’t anything to do with streaming videos or music. It is, instead, a game streaming service.
So far, going by the only video that Google has released of the service, it looks like it’s game streaming done right. The video (at the bottom of this page) shows someone playing Assassin’s Creed Odyssey in their browser at 1080p and at 60fps, which is just incredible.
Google isn’t the only company looking into game streaming (and they’re not the first), Microsoft themselves said at E3 that they are working on a streaming console (possibly next-gen), and a few other companies are doing the same. However, so far the video from Google seems to be the best we have seen from a streaming service, but they didn’t mention anything about input lag, which has plagued game streaming services in the past and has essentially made them somewhat unplayable.
Google said over on their blog:
“Streaming media has transformed the way we consume music and video, making it easy to instantly access your favorite content,”
“It’s a technically complex process that has come a long way in a few short years, but the next technical frontier for streaming will be much more demanding than video.”
They also said that their new service, Project Stream, is “a technical test to solve some of the biggest challenges of streaming” and their initial goal is to “push the limits with one of the most demanding applications for streaming – a blockbuster video game.”
Google is only allowing a limited number of people to test out their new technology, and these participants will be able to play Assassin’s Creed Odyssey in their browsers this Friday, October 5th. If you would like try out their new tech you can apply via the dedicated Project Stream website, however, only US residents will be able to apply and you must be 17 years old or older – obviously, you also need an internet connection (25 megabits per second minimum). Google will most likely roll this out to other countries in due course.
It will be interesting to see what Google does with this new technology. My initial instinct is telling me that they will use it to allow users to stream games via Chromecast. I can’t see Google joining the console war, but they may sell their technology to the highest bidder or possibly to everyone who wants it in exchange for royalties. One way or another, the future of gaming lies with streaming – discs and HDDs are just annoying. If game streaming really can be perfected with no or very little input lag, it could just put Google in a great position to cash in.
The Project Stream gameplay can be seen below:
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