It’s been around 4 months now since Google launched its home-streaming ‘Stadia‘ system. So, how has it done so far? Well, I think it’s fair to say, it hasn’t proven to be much of a success. There are, of course, various reasons for that. One of the most predominant, however, is the very basic fact that the system doesn’t really offer that many games.
This isn’t, incidentally, for the want of developers not being interested. In fact, they recently accused Google of being far too stingy in willing to pay to bring their games to the system. There is, however, something of a silver lining on the horizon. Doom Eternal is set to launch on March 20th and it represents one of the first major (new) AAA releases to arrive on the Google Stadia. It seems, however, that in terms of how it will run, either iD-Software or Google may be getting creative with the details.
Doom Eternal – Technically in 4K
In a report via TechSpot, iD-Software is on the record as saying that the Google Stadia release of Doom Eternal “will be capable of running at true 4K resolution, with HDR color at an unrelenting 60 frames per second”. Sounds good, right? Well, not when you look at what Google says.
Doom Eternal (on the Google Stadia) will run at 1080p@60fps on standard HD. To achieve ‘4K’, however, Google claims it will up-sample to 2160p from 1800p at 60FPS. While this will still (in theory) look better than 1440p its doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this isn’t “true 4K”. It is, quite frankly, 4K based on a pretty substantial technicality. It’s the kind of claim that requires an asterisk with a pretty detailed explanation of what it really represents!
What Do We Think?
Factors such as this perhaps best highlight why consumers are so reticent about investing in the Google Stadia. I mean, if they’re having to get creative with resolution descriptions, it’s pretty clear that not everything has gone according to plan so far.
Put simply, if you bought a Google Stadia specifically for 4K gaming, then Doom Eternal represents another instance on the system where you’re not technically getting what you paid (and are continuing to pay) for. Don’t get us wrong, Doom Eternal will probably still look pretty amazing on Google Stadia. No matter how much they attempt to blur the lines and fudge the facts, however, this is almost certainly not coming with “true 4K” support.
What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!
