No dedicated hardware, no console, no waiting, and an addressable audience of two billion. Stadia boss and industry veteran Phil Harrison talked of a world where players could watch a trailer for a game, click a Stadia link and be playing within five seconds. Google said the service would enable users to play video games across smartphones, tablets, desktops, laptops and TVs (via Chromecast). Stadia was officially announced at GDC 2019. This prompted speculation that Google might launch a cloud gaming service in fact, at Stadia's unveiling Google CEO Sundar Pichai described the service as 'probably the worst-kept secret in the industry.'

It began as Project Stream, a collaboration between Google and Ubisoft to make Assassin's Creed Odyssey playable through browsers. The full implications of this are still emerging, but as the fallout continues, it's perhaps an opportune time to reflect on what Google was attempting with its foray into games streaming. Last week, the company announced Stadia will be shut down forever in a matter of months. The irony of Google promoting its would-be-revolutionary cloud gaming service alongside some of the industry's most famous failures has not been lost on anyone this past week. An empty case at the end of the timeline would later be home to a Stadia controller. The service was teased in the days before its unveiling via an outdoor exhibition near San Francisco's Moscone Center, on the corner of 4th Street and Howard Street, intriguing GDC 2019 attendees with historical gaming pieces such as the Nintendo Power Glove, the Dreamcast and a copy of ET: The Extra-Terrestrial for Atari 2600.

A full year before PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S were announced, Google presented its own vision for gaming's future: Stadia, a cloud gaming service that enabled you to play across any device.

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