In 2017, the video game industry generated $108.4 billion in revenue. Google wants to get in on that very lucrative action. According to a report from Kotaku, Google is developing a streaming platform for gaming as well as video game hardware.
According to five Google insiders, the search engine giant is currently working on a new gaming venture. The project is codenamed “Yeti” and Google has a three-pronged attack for challenging video game titans such as Xbox, PS4, and Switch. “1) Some sort of streaming platform, 2) some sort of hardware, and 3) an attempt to bring game developers under the Google umbrella, whether through aggressive recruiting or even major acquisitions,” the report states.
The streaming service would allow gameplay on any platform and not be tied down to a particular gaming console. Google would offload most of the processing to cloud computers and stream the game to your device. The report says Yeti would make even resource-devouring games such as The Witcher 3 available to play on a Google Chrome tab. That would mean that you could play top-of-the-line games on a crappy computer without upgraded to an expensive graphics card or buy a new console.
The rumors shed no light as to what kind of hardware Google will offer. Google developing gaming hardware is an interesting direction since Microsoft said their future will probably be less focused on consoles and more concentrated on a Netflix-like streaming service that offers gameplay on any platform.
Google has the immense wealth to snag big-name studios to help them become a huge gaming force that challenges Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. Google has shown an interest in getting into the gaming business since 2014 when they attempted to acquire Twitch but Amazon swooped in and purchased the live streaming video platform for $970 million. There was no timeline given for when any of these ambitious products would be available.
[BGR]