Google has announced it will be opening one of many game studios. The first in Montréal, will develop games specifically for its upcoming Stadia online game streaming platform.

Some exciting news coming out of Google today should interest anyone who has been keeping an eye on the upcoming launch of Google Stadia.

A blog post published by the VP and Head of Google’s Stadia Games & Entertainment, Jade Raymond, details the opening of a brand-new game development studio.

The studio will develop games and other content exclusively for the Stadia platform, which is due to launch in less than a month, on 19 November.

Google has chosen Montréal as the location of the new Stadia Games & Entertainment studio.

This decision was likely based partly upon the fact that Stadia Games & Entertainment’s head, Jade Raymond, was born and raised in the city.

Explaining the ethos the team wants to foster in the new studio, Raymond says,

“We’re committed to building an environment that will empower the developers who work at Stadia to create new, unique gaming experiences.”

It appears this inclusiveness and accessibility will be a big priority for Google as it launches and expands its new gaming platform next month.

What is Google Stadia?

You might not have heard about Google’s new Stadia online cloud gaming service, but it’s almost ready for release.

Google first announced it was working on an online game streaming platform in October 2018. Back then it was referred to as Project Stream, but we now know most of the details about the final product ahead of its imminent launch.

With Stadia, Google has effectively created a YouTube for gaming. Games will be hosted and processed in a Google data centre, and then live streamed to the player through Google Chrome.

The player’s controller inputs will then be used to control the game in real-time, just like using a console or PC.

As long as the user has a solid internet connection with good bandwidth, games on Stadia will run in up to 4K resolution and 60 fps.

It will be integrated with YouTube, so users can tune in to watch other players as they stream their games live.

The platforms shows a lot of promise as a pretty revolutionary development in the games industry.

As long as the technology works well, all Google needs to work on is a solid library of games for Stadia users to play. That’s where the new Stadia Games & Entertainment Studio comes in.

Which games will be available on Stadia?

Google has already confirmed an impressive list of well-known titles, both new and old, which will be available for Stadia users to purchase and play.

These include Red Dead Redemption 2, Borderlands 3, Football Manager 2020 and The Elder Scrolls Online.

Various subscription tiers will be available, providing additional games for free. Stadia Games & Entertainment will be in charge of developing Stadia-exclusive titles, and it sounds like they’ll be taking an ambitious approach from the get-go.