Google has issued a statement after it was accused of breaking promises over the performance of Stadia games.
Last week, website 9to5google accused Google of “lying” about the performance of Stadia games after it emerged key titles were not running in 4K resolution and 60 frames per second.
The reality of Stadia is an issue for many owners of the streaming tech because it contradicts statements made by Google and its executives in the run up to release, and because Google is locking “up to 4K” resolution behind its £8.99-a-month Stadia Pro subscription.
In promoting Stadia, Google staff said – on-stage – that its GPU has more power than Xbox One X and PS4 Pro combined.
And in a tweet posted in October, Stadia chief Phil Harrison said “all games at launch support 4K”:
“We designed Stadia to enable 4K/60 (with appropriate TV and bandwidth),” Harrison said. “We want all games to play 4K/60 but sometimes for artistic reasons a game is 4K/30 so Stadia always streams at 4K/60 via 2x encode.”
Yes, all games at launch support 4K. We designed Stadia to enable 4K/60 (with appropriate TV and bandwidth). We want all games to play 4K/60 but sometimes for artistic reasons a game is 4K/30 so Stadia always streams at 4K/60 via 2x encode.
— Phil Harrison (@MrPhilHarrison) October 9, 2019
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But the Stadia version of Destiny 2, for example, renders at a native 1080p and is then upscaled to improve quality, but never reaches 4K.
Red Dead Redemption 2, Stadia’s most high-profile port, also doesn’t play in true 4K. As Digital Foundry revealed, Red Dead Redemption 2 renders at 1080p or 1440p, depending on what data rate you are using, and is then upscaled to 4K on a Chromecast Ultra. Essentially, Stadia’s 4K mode is actually processing fewer pixels than PS4 Pro on its biggest port.