Tag: Stadia

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Google will shut down Stadia, refund all purchases

Google published a blog post on September 29th announcing it will shut down its Stadia game streaming platform and refund all purchases in January 2023:

“We will be refunding all Stadia hardware purchases made through the Google Store, and all game and add-on content purchases made through the Stadia store. Players will continue to have access to their games library and play through January 18, 2023 so they can complete final play sessions. We expect to have the majority of refunds completed by mid-January, 2023.”

The company directs players to its Help Center for more information on the refund process.

In the blog post, the company notes that the service “hasn’t gained the traction with users that we expected.” However, Google also notes that it sees opportunities to apply Stadia tech elsewhere, including on YouTube, Google Play, and augmented reality (AR) efforts. Google also plans to keep the tech available for industry partners.

The news comes amid continued cancellations of Google projects. The company recently shuttered its Pixelbook division and reduced funding for its experimental software division, Area 120. Employees on the Stadia team will be distributed to other parts of the company.

Source: Google

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Stadia code change hints Google is prepping Nvidia GPU support

Google might be working to add Nvidia GPU support to its servers for Stadia and/or Immersive Stream for Games.

As reported by 9to5Google, a code change from last month shows that Google added a way to include necessary drivers for Nvidia GPUs:

“Add support to the kokoro job script to generate a disk that contains the UMD/KMD NVIDIA modules and corresponding support files required for instances that use a NVIDIA gpu.”

Google’s game streaming services — Stadia and the underlying Immersive Stream for Games tech Google opened up for companies to use — have so far relied on custom AMD GPUs to power games. Researchers have said that Stadia’s servers run on AMD’s Radeon Pro V340, or something similar in power.

The main reason for this is that Stadia uses a modified version of the Linux kernel and, until recently, Nvidia hasn’t offered open-source GPU drivers for Linux.

In other words, with Nvidia offering open-source GPU drivers, it looks like Google is prepping to support the company’s hardware for use in Immersive Stream for Games and Stadia. While Nvidia GPUs aren’t available for the services yet, the inclusion points to intriguing possibilities.

As 9to5 notes, Stadia games are optimized to run on the current AMD hardware. If Google swapped Stadia to Nvidia, it would likely introduce issues for the current lineup of games unless developers similarly optimized for the new hardware.

That said, it’s certainly a possibility. 9to5 says Google might have plans for a Stadia ‘hardware upgrade’ to make it more competitive with other game streaming options from Microsoft and Nvidia. Alternatively, it could just be a way to give developers building Immersive Stream experiences more options.

For now, it’s not clear how this will play out, or what it means for Stadia users. The change could herald a significant upgrade, or could mean little — only time will tell.

Source: 9to5Google

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Google may have a solution for running Windows games on Stadia

While debate rages about whether or not Stadia will land in the ‘Google Graveyard,’ it appears the search giant may have prepped something that could save its struggling game streaming service: a solution for running Windows games.

According to The Verge, Reddit users spotted a session at Google’s upcoming Games Developer Summit titled “how to write a Windows emulator for Linux from scratch.” Google Stadia’s porting platform lead, Marchin Undak, will head the session. It promises a “detailed overview of the technology behind Google’s solution for running unmodified Windows games on Stadia.”

In other words, it appears Google may have made its own Windows “emulator” for Linux.

It’s worth noting that Google’s Stadia is based on Linux, which means this could open the door for easily porting games designed to run on Windows over to Stadia. Although Google has worked with companies like Unreal, Unity, and Havok to improve the porting process, game developers still had to do some heavy lifting to get titles running on Linux.

If Google’s solution works well, it could remove some of the biggest hurdles for getting games running on Stadia. That could lead to an influx of new titles on the platform.

As The Verge points out, Google calls the solution an emulator, but it’s likely the solution is more of a compatibility layer. Emulating apps can cause performance issues, which aren’t ideal in things like games. Compatibility layers, on the other hand, can translate apps to run on different platforms without as significant an impact on performance.

Valve’s Proton compatibility layer is a great example of this. Proton, for those unfamiliar, uses a modified version of ‘Wine’ and maps Microsoft’s Direct3D graphics APIs to Vulkan, allowing Windows games to run on Linux. Proton is key to the Steam Deck, which runs a custom Linux distribution called ‘Steam OS.’

Of course, Google and Valve aren’t the only companies looking into ways to get Windows games running on Linux-based systems. Amazon has been trying to hire developers with experience in Proton for its Luna gaming service (which isn’t available in Canada yet). Luna is powered by Windows, but Amazon’s hiring attempts suggest it could shift to Linux.

Whether Google’s Windows-games-on-Stadia solution is an emulator or compatibility layer remains to be seen. Whatever the case, it could be a great way to expand the content available on Stadia. We’ll likely learn all the details at the Games Developer Summit on March 15th.

Source: The Verge

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Stadia reportedly deprioritized as Google shifts focus to selling streaming tech

Despite hardcore Stadia fans’ sometimes naive best efforts, a new report indicates that Google is deprioritizing the game streaming service to focus on selling the underlying tech that powers it as a white-label platform.

According to Business Insider, Google was in talks with Bungie to use its white-label streaming technology, ‘Google Stream,’ with Destiny 2. However, Sony’s acquisition of the developer likely killed those talks. The Destiny developer would have owned the “content and control the front-end experience,” with Google Stream being the underlying architecture that powers it.

Google is also reportedly in talks with Capcom regarding utilizing Google Stream technology. Outside of the gaming space, the report mentions that Peloton could take advantage of Google Stream to bring gaming-related content to its fitness equipment.

According to the report, “about 20 percent” of the Stadia team’s efforts are currently focused on the consumer side of the business, with the rest of the division working on Google Stream. Lastly, Business Insider says that Google failed to reach its one million monthly active users goal for Stadia by “about 25 percent,” with retention being a critical issue.

In a statement to Business Insider, Google says that it’s “still focused on bringing great games to Stadia in 2022.” If you’ve been following the news surrounding Stadia for the best few years, this report isn’t the least bit surprising. Google’s lack of interest in making Stadia a real contender in the video game industry became apparent when the tech giant closed its internal studios early last year.

Of all the major streaming video game platforms, I did find that Stadia performed the best on a technical level. That said, Stadia Pro is a tough sell in the face of Microsoft’s excellent all-in-one Game Pass Ultimate platform that also includes Xbox Game Streaming (formerly called xCloud).

Source: Business Insider 

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This exclusive launch team Stadia controller is listed on eBay until Feb. 7

Following the November 2019 release of Google Stadia, all launch development team members were gifted an exclusive clear Stadia controller. The controller wasn’t meant to be used for gaming, and even if you wanted to, you couldn’t, as it lacked crucial internal components and is meant to be used as decorative memorabilia only.

Now, over two years later, one of these clear controllers has made its way to eBay, as first shared by Twitter user @OriginaIPenguin.

What’s noteworthy, however, other than the gamepad’s scarcity, is that ‘delvalled_15‘ (the person who listed it) has taken apart the controller and added all internals from a Founder’s Edition Stadia controller, turning the memorabilia into a fully functioning controller that supports charging, vibrations and connectivity.

“This is a collectors item and will likely never be on the market again,” reads the listing’s description.

Stadia fans and collectors would likely love to get their hands on a clear controller, especially one that works and houses internals from the Founder’s Edition controller.

As of right now, the controller is bidding for $435 (roughly $552 CAD), though expect the bidding price to increase as the listing nears its end on Monday, February 7th, at 11:43am ET.

Image credit: eBay 

Source: eBay Via:@OriginaIPenguin

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You can now use Stadia natively on your LG TV

At CES back in January, LG announced that its TVs will gain native Stadia app support in the second half of 2021.

Well, Stadia, Google’s game streaming service, is now available to download natively for webOS LG Smart TVs directly from the LG Content Store, as announced by Stadia.

LG Smart TV customers with 2020 and newer models that run webOS version 5.0 or 6.0 can access the Stadia app directly on their TV, eliminating the need to use a device like a Chromecast to access the service. Older LG smart TV models will still need to rely on third-party devices to access Stadia.

To play the games, you can use either a regular Bluetooth-enabled controller, including the DualShock 4, Xbox One gamepad, Xbox 360 controller or pair a Stadia Controller. To make things even more convenient, you can also use your smartphone as a controller, thanks to the Stadia Bridge Mode, as confirmed by The Verge.

Further, to enjoy all the benefits of Stadia, including 4K resolution, 5.1 surround sound and HDR, you’ll need to sign up for Stadia Pro. A membership to Stadia Pro will set you back $11.99 per month and includes up to 4K/60fps streaming and several free games every month.

However, Stadia Pro is not mandatory to access the service, as games can be purchased individually and streamed at up to 1080p/60fps. A free one-month trial is also available.

To learn more or to subscribe, click here.

Source: Stadia

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Google Stadia adds option to try games for free before purchase

Google’s been quiet about Stadia for a bit — several people were surprised the company didn’t mention its game streaming service once during the Pixel event. While that seems about right for a product destined for the Google graveyard, Stadia did just get a surprisingly useful feature.

As spotted by YouTuber Gem (via 9to5Google), Stadia now supports 30-minute free game trials. At least, it does on the new Stadia-exclusive title Hello Engineer. Gem shared a Stadia Store list of games with trials, which only features Hello Engineer. Still, it’s great to see this functionality come to Stadia, and I hope it rolls out to more games in the future.

Game streaming is still a fairly new tech and despite several massive tech companies working on it (Microsoft, Nvidia and of course Google to name some), it remains unclear how viable game streaming will be.

Microsoft definitely seems to have put a focus on xCloud as a way to test and demo games without fully downloading them, which seems like a more viable use case for streaming at the moment since streaming a game doesn’t require users to download anything.

With Stadia, the free trial option shows up on the game page beneath the banner urging Pro subscribers to claim the game for free. Anyone can use the free trial, which lasts for 30 minutes. At the end of the trial, players get an option to buy the game and Stadia will carry their progress over if they do.

Overall, it seems like a good system and could be a major feature for Stadia. As more games gain the ability to do free trials, it could give players the ability to test Stadia and see how well it works before committing to a subscription or to buying a game.

Source: Gem (YouTube) Via: 9to5Google

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Stadia Phone Link allows you to use your phone as a Stadia controller

You can now use your mobile phone as a controller for Stadia when playing games on a TV.

At launch, Google’s Stadia game streaming platform only worked with the official Stadia Controller. Then came support for third-party gamepads, like the PlayStation and Xbox controllers. Now, Stadia has launched a new feature called ‘Phone Link’ that allows Android and iOS devices to double as a touchscreen gamepad when playing Stadia on the Google TV, Android TV or the Chromecast Ultra.

As noted by 9to5Google, Phone Link also allows your smartphone to act as a bridge between unsupported controllers and your TV. You can use Phone Link to connect third-party controllers to your smartphone, which then transmits the signal to your TV, allowing you to use a controller that traditionally can’t connect to your TV through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. This adds a little bit of response time delay and lag, but it’s better than having no third-party controller support at all.

Follow the steps below to connect your smartphone to a Stadia supported Android/Google TV and use it as a controller:

  • Launch the Stadia app on your TV
  • Launch the Stadia app on your smartphone
  • Tap the controller prompt and follow the instruction on the screen

Follow the steps below to connect your smartphone to Chromecast Ultra and use it as a controller:

  • Select the input to which your Chromecast Ultra is connected to your TV
  • A linking code should be visible on the Chromecast’s ambient mode screen.
  • Launch the Stadia app on your phone
  • Select the controller icon
  • Then, select Phone Touch Gamepad
  • Then choose Play on TV
  • Enter the linking code, and you’re good to go

Source: Stadia Via: 9to5Google