Viewership For Twitch Increased By 45% In 2021

The popular streaming service’s viewership has increased by 45% year over year, according to reports. Twitch viewers watched 24 billion hours of video in 2021, up 45 percent from the previous year.

Despite the network's ongoing issues, Facebook Gaming has experienced a spike in users viewing video game streaming, with viewership on the platform increasing by 47% year over year to 5.3 billion hours. This only goes to show how powerful Facebook is.

Grand Theft Auto V (2.1 billion hours) was the most watched game on Twitch in 2021, followed by the enormous MOBA League of Legends (1.8 billion hours), and the popular battle royale game Fortnite from Epic Games (1.3 billion hours) (1 billion hours). It will be fascinating to see if these games remain the most popular games in 2022.

Google Shutting Down Internal Game Studios For Stadia

Google Stadia, Google’s video game streaming service, is shutting down its internal game development studios and refocusing on offering it to third-party publishers.

Google will close its two Stadia Games & Entertainment studios located in Los Angeles and Montreal. Google says it will try to find new roles at the company for those impacted.

"With the recent successful launch of Cyberpunk 2077 on Stadia, gameplay on all types of devices, including iOS, growing our slate of YouTube integrations, and our global expansions, it’s clear that Stadia’s technology has been proven and works at scale," Google's vice president of Stadia and GM Phil Harrison said in a statement. "Having games streamed to any screen is the future of this industry, and we’ll continue to invest in Stadia and its underlying platform to provide the best cloud gaming experience for our partners and the gaming community. This has been the vision of Stadia since the beginning."

Google states that players can still access their games on Stadia orStadia Pro, and that third-party games will continue to release on the service. It’s unclear how many third-party games Google plans on hosting on Stadia.

PUBG And EA Titles Come To Google Stadia

Google has announced that PUBG and titles from Electronic Arts such as Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order are coming to their streaming platform Stadia. 

PUBG is playable now, including cross-play functionality, and is free to Stadia Pro members. Also available is the Pioneer edition ($39.99, and includes Survivor Pass: Cold Front and some exclusive Stadia skins) and standard edition ($29.99).

EA's titles are coming later this year and beyond. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order comes to Stadia in the fall, with the Madden and FIFA franchises to follow in the winter of 2020. A total of five EA games are hitting Stadia, with a press release from EA clarifying that the remaining, unnamed titles from the company are coming to the platform in 2021.

Other game announcements during the presentation include:

• The May 1st Stadia Pro free titles: Zombie Army 4, SteamWorld Heist, and The Turing Test. Thumper is leaving at the end of this month.
• First on Stadia titles: Crayta (free on Stadia Pro this summer), Get Packed (available now), and Wave Break.
• Embr is starting early access on May 21.
• Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break is coming on June 2 (the exact date was specified by a separate press release).
• Octopath Traveler is now available.
• Orcs Must Die 3 is coming this summer.

New Google Stadia Announcement Happening Soon

If you’re looking to hear more info about Google Stadia then fear not, an upcoming livestream is coming on August 19. It won't be long until the service is up and running for early adopters. 

Let’s do it again. On 8/19, #StadiaConnect is back and bigger than ever. Tune in at 10AM PDT / 7PM CEST for all the details - then come get hands-on with the future of gaming for yourself at our #Gamescom booth! https://t.co/dKmKakQeQp pic.twitter.com/H0ILSxki8r

— Stadia (@GoogleStadia) August 6, 2019

Here’s What Kind Of Internet Connection You’ll Need For Google Stadia

Google has revealed that its Stadia streaming service recommends a 25 megabits per second internet connection to provide 1080p, 60 frames per second gameplay.The requirements for the service are detailed in an interview from Kotaku.

“To get 1080p, 60 frames per second, required approximately 25 megabits per second,” Harrison said of the tests they conducted last October. “In fact, we use less than that, but that’s where we put our recommended limit at” says Google Stadia boss Phil Harrison.

 “When we launch, we will be able to get to 4K but only raise that bandwidth to about 30 megabits per second.” He did not clarify if 4K resolution will still run at 60 frames per second with that 30mbs connection speed.

Harrison also revealed that Stadia is able to dynamically adjust its output based on your bandwidth, so those with weaker connections will be provided with a lower resolution. This will certainly make the system more accessible, but is the cost of quality worth it ? Thoughts ?

Google Stadia Streaming Platform Details Revealed

Google has unveiled its new gaming initiative, Stadia. Stadia is not a piece of hardware, it's a streaming platform meant to bridge across devices and provide players instant access to their games, while also further integrating YouTube capture, streaming, and sharing. Google is aiming to stream games at launch in 4K at 60 fps for both playing games and sharing game streams, with goals of eventually supporting 8K and 120+ fps. Google Stadia features a custom 2.7 GHz hyperthreaded x86 CPU with AVX 2 SIMD. It also boasts a custom AMD GPU that’s capable of 10.7 teraflops of power using HBM2 memory and 56 compute units. For memory, it has 16GB of RAM with up to 484GB/s transfer speeds and 9.5MB of L2+L3 cache. On top of all of this, it includes SSD cloud storage.

Stadia will also allow players to bring an experience via Stadia from one platform to the next, from a phone to a tablet to a Chromecast on TV without any need to wait for download times. Existing controllers will work with games on Stadia, but the Google Stadia Controller was also introduced. The controller connects through Wi-fi directly to the game running in the Google data center. The controller also has a capture button, which will save game clips to YouTube, either privately or to the world. There is also the Google Assistant button. Players can use the built-in microphone with this button to access features created by developers to use in games. The controller also features a cool little easter egg as the Konami Code is on the bottom of the controller. 

Google is planning a 2019 launch for Stadia. Additionally, we don't have price details for what the streaming platform or the specific Stadia controller will cost.


UPDATE 10/25/19 - Google that Google Stadia will arrive on November 19. With servers launching at 12 PM ET/9 AM. PT, fans will either have to preorder the Founder's Edition or subscribe to the Stadia Pro plan. At $9.99 a month, The Pro subscription gives players access to 4K resolution, better sound, and access to a growing library of free titles, starting with Destiny 2: The Collection.

Apple Rumored To Be Working On A Gaming Subscription Service

Apple is planning a subscription service for games, according to Cheddar.

The service is said to function like Netflix for games, allowing users who pay a subscription fee to access a bundled list of titles. Apple began privately discussing a subscription service with game developers in the second half of 2018, according to Cheddar.

No word on pricing, the article says Apple has also discussed partnering with developers as a publisher, “which could signal Apple’s ambition to assume distribution, marketing, and other related costs for select games.”

Playstation Now Said To Be Getting Downloads Later This Year

Sony's game streaming service, PlayStation Now might be adding the ability to download games later this year. An "industry source" told Kotaku UK that "downloads are coming to Playstation Now" in September this year. According to this source, downloads will initially be limited to PlayStation 4 titles. PlayStation Now is a game streaming service which allows subscribers to play PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2 games on a PlayStation 4, PS Vita or PlayStation TV. Currently, PlayStation Now requires an internet connection, so the addition of downloading would be welcomed.

Apple Rejects Steam Link On iOS Due To “Business Conflicts”

Valve's Steam Link was set to release on mobile this week. While the beta version released on Google Play with out issue, the iOS app appears to have hit an unexpected problem. Valve said in a statement that Apple approved then withdrew it from the App Store:

"On Monday, May 7th, Apple approved the Steam Link app for release." It continues: "The following morning, Apple revoked its approval citing business conflicts with app guidelines that had allegedly not been realized by the original review team."

Steam Link is as a way to stream PC games onto TV, allowing players to enjoy their favorite titles from the comfort of their couch. Valve apparently tried to appeal the ruling, pointing out the abundance of free game-streaming apps already live in the marketplace. However, those pleas were overlooked.

"The team here spent many hours on this project and the approval process, so we're clearly disappointed. But we hope Apple will reconsider in the future."

Apple hasn't detailed the reasons behind its rejection, but Moonlight and Remotr are available as alternatives.

EA Acquires Gamefly, Games-By-Mail Service Won’t Be Affected

EA has announced it had acquired the "cloud gaming technology assets and personnel" of GameFly. The companies games-by-mail service will not be affected by Electronic Arts' acquisition of the company's cloud gaming technology.

"Our USA-based games-by-mail customers can rest assured that this transaction will have no impact on their subscription," said GameFly CEO David Hodess. "The GameFly team remains in place and looks forward to providing the same excellent service we have offered since 2003."

According to EA, the acquisition will "enable the company to continue exploring new ways for players to access and experience games from any device." EA believes cloud gaming will allow it to reach more gamers on more platforms across the world, with the ultimate goal of delivering "next-generation experiences at scale" via streaming. This will likely play a role in EA's plan to launch a commercial streaming service in the next two to three years, which the company is working on alongside an unannounced partner, according to GameSpot.

Microsoft Testing USB Cameras For Streaming On Xbox One

Microsoft have announced that they are testing the use of USB cameras for Microsoft apps like Mixer and Skype. The new webcam testing (available to Alpha Ring insider members) should allow Xbox One owners to take a USB camera and plug them into the Xbox One for the same function on a PC. This is big news for streamers who don’t want to use or invest in a Kinect purely for  streams. Thoughts ?

Twitch Announces A Desktop App

Twitch has revealed a desktop app, that allows Twitch users to watch Twitch streams, mod in overlays, and more. The app also allows users to text and video chat. The app can be downloaded here. The app sounds like a nice alternative if you don’t want to use a web browser or phone or the many others ways you can watch Twitch. Still, good on Twitch for giving people options. Thoughts ?

Nvidia Revamps GeForce Now For Mac And PC

Nvidia wants everyone to have access and to experience its hardware. With it being impossible to fit a GTX 1080 into a MacBook, has introduced a new version of its GeForce Now game streaming software that allows users to play any game they own from the likes of Steam, Origin, and Uplay on any Mac or PC. This will let PC gamers access its top-end hardware without needing to assemble a gaming PC. The GeForce Now service uses GTX 1080-equipped machines in data centers to stream games to PCs and Macs. Pricing starts at US$25 for 20 hours of play on a GTX 1060 PC, or 10 hours of play on a GTX 1080 PC. A demo of 8 hours on a GeForce GTX 1060 PC, or 4 hours on a GTX 1080 PC will be available. The new service works like a virtual desktop; users see a full Windows install on logging in. From there, they can load up regular versions of Steam, Battle.net, Origin, Uplay, and GOG and download any game they like from their existing library. While I don’t believe in game streaming services, if you’re a Mac users this seems really compelling and I will definitely give the Demo a try. Thoughts ?