The demands of using Google Stadia to play games in 4K might be too much for a lot of gamers, as a recent study suggests that the data cap on many Internet plans would be quickly used up by using the 4K version of the service. Google Stadia is an upcoming gaming platform that will allow players to stream games at their highest performance settings on devices that would normally be unable to run them.
Google Stadia will be available to the general public in 2020. The service will be free, but the games will display at a maximum of 1080p/60 FPS. There will be a paid subscription model for Google Stadia that will cost ten dollars a month and will display the games at 4K HDR video/60 FPS, as well as giving away a free game every month and offering discounts on available titles.
The problem of data usage has been a common concern regarding Google Stadia since it was first announced. It seems that there is a legitimate concern, as a recent study by BroadbandNow has revealed that a lot of gamers would use all of their data plan by streaming games in 4K with the Google Stadia service. Around thirty-two million people play games for around twenty-two hours a month, which would mean that they would use around 1.3TB a month on Google Stadia alone. The highest data caps for services that don't offer unlimited Internet access are around 1TB, which means that players would need to monitor the time they spent playing games in 4K using Google Stadia. At least 17% of the people surveyed had a data cap on their Internet, while a further 21% were unsure.
Google Stadia has the potential to change the video game industry as we know it, but there are still a lot of questions regarding the efficiency of the service that need to be answered before people start throwing away their consoles. Google is promising that multiplayer is better on Stadia, as thousands of people will be able to play together in the same game at the same time. There have been a lot of promises made regarding the incredible things that Google Stadia is capable of, but the reality of how it will work with the current Internet structure in most countries has yet to be determined.
The data usage issues with Google Stadia could be alleviated by playing it on lower settings, but the ability to play games in 4K/60 FPS without needing to purchase expensive hardware is one of the main selling points of the subscription service. Google Stadia will be available next month to those who purchase the Founder's Edition, so it won't be long until the extent of the data usage is made clear and whether it will be worth purchasing games on Google Stadia at launch.
Source: BroadbandNow