Skip to main content

Google Stadia uses ‘Stream Connect’ for local split-screen multiplayer gaming

One thing I still sorely miss about older games is split-screen multiplayer with friends on my couch. Thanks to the power behind Google Stadia, that functionality is making a comeback with a feature called Stream Connect.

Games nowadays push the hardware we use to its limits. Largely thanks to that, it’s gotten to the point where these games simply aren’t capable of the extra computing and rendering needed to process split-screen multiplayer. However, because Google Stadia is so powerful, that’s going to be a reality once again.

Google says that local split-screen is made possible by having each player’s stream as a separate Stadia instance.

Advertisement - scroll for more content

In a demo shown on stage, the company showed off a game custom-made to show off Stream Connect on Google Stadia. In the demo, the game opens up multiple scenes for each player all on the same screen over the same connection, in this case with each player having asymmetric roles which can interact with one another in real time. Apparently, several players can be playing at once with this instead of just a couple of up to 4 as many other local co-op games have supported in the past.

You can see this feature in action around the 51-minute mark in Google’s presentation.

More on Google Stadia:

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading NewGeekGuide — experts who break news about Google and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow NewGeekGuide on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

Author

Avatar for Ben Schoon Ben Schoon

Ben is a Senior Editor for NewGeekGuide.

Find him on Twitter @NexusBen. Send tips to schoon@9to5g.com or encrypted to benschoon@protonmail.com.