The idea of streaming games via the internet would've been a pipe dream just five years ago. Games with enormous day one patches used to be a huge controversy for fans at the beginning of the console generation, so obviously the proposition of playing entire games using cloud streaming just five years later is a hard sell. But now in 2020, as many places around the world are approaching ubiquitous high-speed internet access, game streaming has become a far more attainable goal and promising direction for gaming technology.
Though like any burgeoning tech trend, game streaming hasn't started without its fair share of problems. Both from a technological and subscription standpoint, every different kind of approach has been taken to monetize and implement game streaming. Whether it's starting a completely new service like Google Stadia, implementing game streaming as an added benefit with Xbox's xCloud, or opening up a separate subscription with PS Now, all of the major players have made efforts in streaming games to consumers. Here's how the major players are doing in game streaming now, and what the future holds for each service in the next generation.
GeForce Now is Promising for PC, But There's a Catch
Before moving on to the other major game streaming options right now, it's important to mention the state of GeForce Now. At the moment, while the tech behind Nvidia's game-streaming technology is genuinely great, there's a huge caveat with the service for now. For those who are unaware, multiple developers and publishers have had to rescind games from the GeForce Now service. While the exact details are hazy, the gist of it is that Nvidia is monetizing a game streaming service that's placing many games available on platforms like Steam without permission from publishers. This particular situation happened to The Long Dark and several titles from Activision and Bethesda.
Several of the publishers who've pulled its games from GeForce Now haven't given exact reasoning as to why, but that's the presumption for now. Nvidia GeForce Now is free to sign up for, but also has a $5/month tier for unlimited length sessions instead of the hour limit. Many developers and publishers feel that's an additional monetization of its intellectual properties without permission, thus delisting several games from the service. The future for GeForce Now is uncertain, as many of the other competing services either require purchasing a game outright or are contracted to appear on the service for a certain amount of time.
Project xCloud is the Best of the Bunch
Microsoft and Xbox's Project xCloud service is perhaps the best of the bunch so far, mostly based on how the service is being offered to players. Every other streaming service out there tacks on an additional subscription, or requires the purchasing of the game outright, to stream games to players' devices. Project xCloud, as of recently, is now bundled in with Game Pass Ultimate, meaning a subscription that many gaming fans already subscribes to now includes streaming games. Once again, Xbox's Game Pass proves it's one of the best values in gaming amongst its competitors.
Of course, Project xCloud is still in beta at the moment, but the service has already received generally favorable reviews/feedback from early adopters. Come the full release in September, every Game Pass Ultimate players will have access to the xCloud game streaming functionality. Until then, those in the beta program have noted the inherent input lag and ping issues with larger online games as the only major downsides of the service. Project xCloud's beta streams at up to 720p60 on Android, with support for Windows 10 devices coming soon after the public launch in September. Overall, Xbox's implementation of game streaming is the least problematic so far, even in its beta state.
Stadia Continues to Fall Behind
On the other less impressive side of the coin is Stadia, Google's first foray into triple-A gaming with its premium streaming service. Stadia has had a rough go at game streaming; specifically with a lot of false promises, update delays, and problematic cost issues. Stadia has both a premium monthly service like Xbox Live, and/or requires users purchase a Stadia-specific version of whatever game players want. There is no carry over from other consoles or PC, so if there's a game players want, they need to purchase it through Stadia. While that's not inherently a problem, the highly limited game library in comparison to rival streaming services becomes problematic.
Comparatively, xCloud users (once the public service launches this fall) will be able to play any games in the Xbox Game Pass library. The only leg up Stadia has right now is multiple ways to play, even though the rules there are stringent. Games can only be streamed to a Google Chromecast Ultra specifically on TV, only to PCs with a Chrome browser, or a growing list of supported Android phones. Stadia's games are typically full price (excluding occasional store sales) and are only available to stream. And considering the inherent latency and potential connection issues, it just doesn't justify the price when other services offer streaming and local installs.
PlayStation Now is a Middling Option For Now
PlayStation Now is the lesser known of the bunch, despite being one of the earliest iterations of game streaming. PlayStation Now is a separate subscription from PlayStation Plus, currently available for $19.99 a month. Games can be streamed to PS4s using the pre-installed PS Now application, and also on PC, with no options for mobile gameplay period. There is a solid collection of PS4/PS3/PS2 games on PS Now as well, though they have a far shorter window of availability on the service compared to the aforementioned services.
Not to mention, being the first of the bunch, there are still plenty of issues with stability and games losing connection/crashing. These issues occur mainly on PC, where there's no option to download the game unlike on PS4. That's the PS Now's redeeming factor, the service allows players to download games locally to PS4 to avoid the latency/lag issues entirely. But at the same time, with Xbox's Play Anywhere Initiative, this option will be able for xCloud users on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC as well since Game Pass inherently already does this. PS Now is only for players in the PlayStation ecosystem to have an option for game streaming, and even then it's only for PC or PS4.
The state of cloud game streaming is taking its first baby steps. In a lot of ways game streaming has tripped and fell. On the flip side, services like xCloud being bundled with Game Pass and PlayStation Now having some leeway with console gaming elsewhere, there's been success as well. Streaming games will only become bigger as the technology and next console generation progresses, but so far it hasn't been a terrible start for the new way to play video games.