Google, Microsoft getting closer to making streaming games a reality

Lots of potential stakeholders have plans for streaming video games but Google and Microsoft are two that are making some significant moves in the near future.The Game Developers Conference is kicking off next week in San Francisco and Google is expected to be there to announce its Project Stream cloud gaming service. The company last month sent out a mysterious teaser about an announcement coming March 19, using the tagline “gather around.” Google got more literal when it promised to unveil its vision for the future of gaming. If it does indeed turn out being a Project Stream unveiling, it would be a cherry on top of some recent testing the company has done around the platform. Last year, Google announced Stream as a “technical test to solve some of the biggest challenges of streaming.” The company conducted trials by streaming the latest “Assassin’s Creed” video game to Chrome browsers. While Google is getting ready for a big reveal, Microsoft is making its own moves toward a cloud gaming future. Last year, Microsoft announced Project xCloud, a video game streaming service, with plans for public trials to begin in 2019. The service will work on PCs and mobile devices—along with consoles—and will allow users to play with a Bluetooth controller or on-screen controls.