Google is about to show the world its vision for the future of gaming, but many details about Google’s game streaming platform were leaked just ahead of the event. We’ve known for a while now that Google plans to bring high-end games to just about any device that can run an internet browsing app and has access to decent Wi-Fi or cellular data speeds, and Google even ran a beta test for the service. But the company didn’t reveal all its secrets during the Project Stream beta last fall.
According to Kotaku, the main focus of Google’s keynote will be the streaming platform. Google wants high-end games to be available to players regardless of platform, with support including Windows 10, Mac, Chrome, TVs, Android, and iPhone.
Google will also unveil a controller for this particular project, which will include some streaming capabilities. That means you might be able to access the streaming platform on a TV set even if you don’t have any gaming hardware hooked up to it.
The platform will also deliver a few smart features, the report says, which aren’t available anywhere else in the gaming world:
You’re watching your favorite Twitch streamer play a game, and you think it looks cool, so you buy it, and then, if the developers of the game have toggled this feature, you can download a save file that starts you off right where your streamer was playing. Or maybe it’s a multiplayer game, and you can buy the game and immediately jump into a match with the streamer, if the developers allow it and the streamer is down.
One other notable feature is YouTube integration. You might be able to buy a game directly from a YouTube ad. More interestingly, you’ll be able to load the correct spot in a YouTube walkthrough, after Google recognizes where you are in the game.
Aside from high-end games from other developers, you’ll have access to Google’s own titles. The company’s Yeti gaming unit is run by former PlayStation and Xbox exec Phil Harrison.
That said, it’s unclear how much the game streaming service will cost when it launches, and what games will be available initially. But we do have what appears to be the service’s logo — see the image above.
