The competition: Several major tech companies, from Amazon to Verizon to Google and Sony, either already have game streaming services or are working on game streaming services.

Sony

Nearly every major tech company is working on a form of video game streaming technology right now.

Some have been announced or are already operating, like Google Stadia and Sony's PlayStation Now, while others are little more than whispers at the moment, like streaming services from Verizon and Amazon.

The competition is stiff, to put it very lightly.

Broadly speaking, the next two years appear to be the general launch target for most of these new game streaming services. Both Microsoft and Google have been testing their streaming services with limited, invite-only audiences, while Amazon's and Verizon's streaming services are little more than talk at this point.

Google's Project Stream (now known as "Stadia") demonstrated the ability to stream blockbuster games — "Assassin's Creed Odyssey," specifically — in web browsers. A public, limited test ran from late last year until mid-January 2019. The company further detailed the service in mid-March at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Microsoft promised "public trials" of Project xCloud in 2019, but has yet to give specific dates; it's otherwise testing the service privately on an invite-only basis.

Sony, meanwhile, has been operating a subscription-based video game streaming service in PlayStation Now for five years. The service enables players on PlayStation 4 and PC to stream PlayStation 2, 3, and 4 games without a download. It costs $20/month or $100/year.