Stadia is dead, but new Chromebooks support Google’s cloud gaming dreams

The final nail is almost in the coffin of Google Stadia: Google has announced that it will be shutting down its game streaming service on January 18th. At a press meeting this week, Google said it still sees cloud gaming as a source of huge profits for the company moving forward. However, as Stadia leaves, Google will have to rely on gaming platforms and manufacturing partners. Today, Acer, Asus and Lenovo announced three so-called high-spec gaming Chromebooks for Chromebooks, including refresh rates up to 144Hz. Google said it has optimized devices for game streaming from Nvidia GeForce Now, Amazon Luna and Xbox Cloud Gaming beta.

Gaming Chromebooks: Specifications and Features

The Acer Chromebook 516 GE, Asus Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip (CX5501) 2-in-1, and Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook announced today stand out for higher-than-average, more economical Chromebooks, including higher-resolution screens that support frequency gamer-level upgrades and more powerful processors. Google said the computers cost between $399 and $799.

Here is a brief overview of the specifications:

The systems run on Intel i7 processors, but Google said it has tested game streaming with i5 and i3 chips with “phenomenal”results. Acer and Asus laptops also come with HDMI 2.1 and 2.0 respectively, leaving the potential for a decent gaming monitor.

But can’t other Chromebooks stream games?

It’s important to note that any Chromebook, as long as it meets the requirements of the streaming platform, can use these cloud services (although the maximum resolution and frame rate will be limited depending on the system). The big difference is that Google has allegedly optimized these three machines for game streaming from the cloud, ranging from the chipset to the core designs of ChromeOS.

At a press briefing, Google said it has optimized three Chromebooks to run three partner streaming platforms (via downloadable web apps): Nvidia GeForce Now, which launches a new Chromebook streaming mode that supports 1600p at 120fps, Xbox Cloud Beta Gaming by Microsoft, and Amazon Luna. Notably, Xbox Cloud Gaming and Luna do not support resolutions above 1080p.

The Chromebook also comes with latency claims, as confirmed by GameBench. Every laptop claims “less than 85ms”latency, but that figure is for 1080p when playing Fortnite or Destiny 2 on GeForce Now.

During Google’s press briefing, an Nvidia spokesperson said that Nvidia tested “around 60ms total latency on new Chromebooks last week in Destiny 2, Apex Legends and Fortnite on a system with around 8ms ping times to the nearest GeForce Now data center.””

Of course, the expected results will depend on your Internet capabilities. For example, an Nvidia spokesperson stated that GeForce Now needs about 35Mbps to run 1600p at 120fps. The GeForce Now Bandwidth Requirements page also recommends a latency of less than 40ms from the Nvidia datacenter.

Amazon said Luna requires 10GB per hour for 1080p streaming, while the Xbox Cloud Gaming beta requires a minimum of 10Mbps, Windows Central reported in August.

Chromebooks from Acer, Asus, and Lenovo will also be the first Chromebooks to feature a game launcher search activated via the Chromebook Everything button. Google said it has indexed the streaming service’s game directories, allowing users to type in the name of the game they want to play in the ChromeOS search bar and view a list of game launchers where they can play those games. However, this feature will only work with GeForce Now and the Google Play Store to begin with. Google said it plans to expand its game launcher search to other streaming services and Chromebooks.

Gaming Chromebooks feature anti-ghosting RGB keyboards so multiple keystrokes can register at the same time, and Wi-Fi 6 or 6E (depending on device).

For a limited time, Chromebooks will include a three-month subscription to GeForce Now and the highest tiers of Luna, as well as, depending on device and availability, a SteelSeries gaming mouse.