It has been one of the worst kept secrets in the gaming industry for the past few months, up their with the existence of Starfield, and Google made it official today. They are entering the video game market with a game streaming platform called Stadia.

How the service works is Google will render the game and any button prompts in their powerful data centers, and beam video to your device of choice, eliminating the barrier of having specific hardware to play games. What makes it stand out from other services, like OnLive, is that it works on all of Google’s devices, and anything that can run Google Chrome. From desktops and laptops, all the way to smartphones and a Chromecast, if you can access Google, you can play a video game.

To play games on a Chromecast, you’ll need the new Stadia controller that surprisingly connects over WiFi. Many people assumed Google would release a Chromecast with built-in Bluetooth to play games, but having the controller connect over WiFi means that current Chromecast owners will be able to use Stadia, which is a neat touch.

The technology works, and works well. I was a participant in the Project Steam public test last year. Users were able to play all of Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey until the test ended in the middle of January. While Google touts that they were streaming 1080p video at 60 frames-per-second, I will be honest that I never felt like it got up to 60fps on my end. It definitely wasn’t a connection issue has I had over 20 times the recommended bandwidth to run Project Stream. But it was a smooth experience, and I believe Google when they say they can get to that 60fps mark.

There are a host of other impressive features, like clicking a button in a YouTube video and you’re in the game instantly. Google is also using machine learning to fill in the art in games, having a game state share so you can pick up instantly in a game from where a content creator or your friend decides, and the possibility of massive multiplayer games. They said multiple times “imagine a battle royale game with 1000 players.” Honestly, that sounds like a bit much, but the possibility of a MMORPG on an even bigger scale than we’ve ever seen is exciting to think about. I want a connected world where 1000 people are running around simultaneously, and with how Google talked about Stadia, it seems like it will be possible.

My biggest question with Stadia is data caps. Everyone keeps asking about bandwidth you’ll need to use Stadia, but it won’t be an issue. Netflix and Amazon recommend an internet connection of 15 megabits-per-second to stream 4K content. Google may bump up that recommended connection to 20 Mbps just to be safe, but that shouldn’t be an issue for most customers. But as more internet service providers implement data caps to combat the growing number of cord cutters, it’s concerning that the future of gaming will be tied to how many gigabytes you have left in your monthly allotment.

According to Netflix, streaming 4K content uses 7 gigabytes per hour. With ISPs implementing 1 terabyte data caps, that comes out to roughly 142 hours worth of 4K streaming per month, which is roughly 5.9 days. If all you streamed was Stadia in 4K, you’d get around 6 days of game time per month before hitting your data cap.

The most recent game I installed on my PC was The Division 2, which was about 43 gigabytes to download. At this point, it becomes more beneficial towards my data cap to just download a game than to stream it constantly. Plus when you download a game, it’s just a onetime download. So if I play the game for months, my network usage is very low compared to streaming on Stadia.

Stadia looks like a cool platform, and it seems like Google is taking it serious. They announced that video game veteran Jade Raymond is leading their in house development and publishing team, and they have quite a few industry partners on board already, like Unreal Engine, Unity, Id Software, and I imagine Ubisoft will be a partner since they were part of the Project Stream test. I love the idea of bringing games to more people as easily as possible, and I honestly can’t wait to see it in action. But if concerns of data caps are not addressed immediately, it could bring down the platform before it even has a chance to take off.

Stadia will release in 2019, and Google said more details will be made available to the public this summer.

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