Back in August, we learned that Google was hiring new Stadia employees to work on licensing its streaming tech out to game developers and publishers, in lieu of focusing on first-party games and bringing consumers on to Stadia directly. Now, it seems that plan is very much in motion, with Google reportedly being in talks with the likes of Bungie and Capcom.
Read More »Stadia Pro’s free February games are actually good
Despite the clear lack of interest from most parties, Google is continuing to offer free games to those who are subscribed to the company’s game streaming service, Stadia. For the month of February, players can actually get their hands on a number of high quality and exciting new titles. Making …
Read More »Minecraft surpasses 1 Trillion views on YouTube
Minecraft is the best selling game in the world, with almost 250 million copies sold. Despite this huge figure, it pales in comparison to the number of video views that Minecraft has collectively amassed over the years. As announced by YouTube, Minecraft has now surpassed 1 Trillion video views on …
Read More »YouTube is removing dislikes from public view for all channels
Back in March, YouTube began testing a significant change to its website by hiding the number of dislikes on certain videos. Now, this change is rolling out site-wide, meaning the number of dislikes on videos from all creators will no longer be public. You will still be able to dislike …
Read More »Stadia timed-demos expand to include Control and Riders Republic
One of the big benefits of cloud gaming is the instant access to games, without the need to wait for installs or downloads. It also paves the way for developers to offer limited-time access to titles in a controlled way, without needing to spend resources and development time creating a …
Read More »Google Stadia is finally offering demos and free trials for games
One of the big benefits of cloud gaming is the instant access to games, without the need to wait for installs or downloads. It also paves the way for developers to offer limited-time access to titles in a controlled way, without needing to spend resources and development time creating a …
Read More »Google Stadia now lets you use any controller
One of the main issues with Google Stadia is that while the search giant pitched the service as being the cheaper alternative to console gaming, the need for a bespoke controller for minimum latency brought the cost up considerably. For those who were not invited to the recent Stadia promotion …
Read More »Google teases ‘surprise’ for next week
Google has always been experimental with its marketing, from revealing phones prior to its announcement, to announcing a phone only by confirming that the unannounced phone’s purported cancellation was false. The search engine giant has now sent out an email to its fans saying “You're invited to Google's Birthday party.” …
Read More »Google tries to win ex-Stadia users back with free stuff
Ever since its announcement and release, Google’s Stadia has failed to live up to expectations on all fronts, with customers disappointed in the service, and Google disappointed in its sales performance. Still, the company has not yet given up, and is now trying to win back lapsed subscribers by giving …
Read More »YouTube shuts down Discord music bot ‘Rythm’
A few weeks ago, YouTube began shutting down Discord music bots for pulling music from YouTube and circumventing advertisements. Groovy was the first to be shut down and now, one of its most popular competitors, Rythm, is also going offline. The Rythm bot will be shutting down on the 15th …
Read More »South Korea passes law to force Apple and Google to allow third-party app payment systems
Currently, Apple and Google have rules in place to force developers to use their own first-party App Store and Play Store payment systems. This is something that developers have been protesting recently, sparking further scrutiny from regulators and anti-trust organisations. Now, South Korea has passed a bill to address this …
Read More »Google to pay Apple up to $20 billion to remain default iPhone search engine
We've seen the likes of Yahoo and Google get into bidding wars over becoming the default search engine for Apple's iOS devices. Currently, Google is the default search provider, but the company may need to pay as much as $20 billion to keep things that way. In the fiscal year …
Read More »YouTube shuts down popular Discord music bot ‘Groovy’
One of the great things about Discord is the number of useful plugins and bots that you can implement on servers. One of the more popular plugins, Groovy, is unfortunately being shut down at the end of this month due to legal threats from YouTube. Groovy can be used on …
Read More »Google discontinues Pixel 5 ahead of Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro launch
Recently, Google began teasing its next flagship smartphone, the Pixel 6, which will be the first to feature a Google-designed custom processor. We're still a month or two away from the new phone launching, but we're already seeing the Pixel 5 disappearing from store shelves...
Read More »Google allegedly wanted to take over Epic Games to avoid Play Store competition
It has been a couple of months since the Epic Games v Apple trial came to an end, but Epic’s legal battles are not over yet. Epic is now taking on Google in court, giving us a fresh wave of new documents – revealing that Google considered acquiring Epic Games a …
Read More »Former Stadia devs say Google pulled plug due to investment costs
It has been months since Google shut down its internal Stadia game development studios and publishing branch. As time goes on, we're learning more about why Google threw in the towel so soon, and it looks like rising game development costs had a lot to do with it. In preparation …
Read More »Google was planning to buy Epic Games according to court documents
It has been a couple of months since the Epic Games v Apple trial came to an end, but Epic's legal battles are not over yet. Epic is now taking on Google in court, giving us a fresh wave of new documents - revealing that Google considered acquiring Epic Games a while back, in part due to the competitive threat posed to the Play Store.
Read More »Samsung to produce 5nm Tensor chip for Google Pixel 6
Earlier this week, Google officially revealed the Pixel 6, the company's first smartphone to use its own SoC, know as Google Tensor. As it turns out, Google has signed on Samsung to produce the chip on the 5nm process. During its initial announcement, Google did not disclose who would be …
Read More »Google could license Stadia tech for devs to create their own cloud gaming services
While Google first announced Stadia with a lot of promise, the service fell flat almost instantly and the disbanding of first-party studios and publishing services has led to interest dropping almost completely. Google may still be able to salvage Stadia though, by providing the cloud gaming tech to other developers …
Read More »Google announces Pixel 6 with first custom-designed processor
Google's Pixel smartphone announcements have been breaking out of the normal repetitive cycle over the last couple of years. Google decided to confirm the Pixel 5 early after leaks and this year, the company is getting ahead of the leaks entirely by announcing the Pixel 6 today, which will be the first to feature a Google-designed custom SoC.
Read More »Google is building a new app to make it easier to leave iOS
For as long as there have been mobile devices, there have been ways to switch phones while still keeping all of your contacts, messages, and other important pieces of data. Be it through transferring sim cards, microSD cards, or bespoke apps, the act of transferring has been possible – if …
Read More »Google faces US anti-trust lawsuit over Play Store policies
Google has faced plenty of anti-trust complaints over the years, with most recent cases centring around the Google Play Store and its policies for app developers. Now, an antitrust lawsuit is being levied against Google, backed by 36 US states, including Washington DC. The lawsuit takes aim at Google's policy …
Read More »Google Pixel 6 leak shows large flat-screen design for standard model
Earlier this month, we got our first sneak peek at some of the design changes Google is implementing for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro smartphones. Now, more reputable leakers are sharing what they know, giving us an even better idea of what to expect from Google's next flagship. …
Read More »Android surpasses 3 billion active devices milestone
Android has been around for over a decade at this point and has grown tremendously during that time. Google's mobile operating system has now set a new record, with Android being used on over 3 billion active devices. Since Android is open source, smartphone makers have been free to adopt …
Read More »Stadia’s marketing lead directly addresses “non-believers”
Google Stadia has generally been regarded by most to be a disappointment. The game streaming service has until now underdelivered on its promises, and has failed to capture the market in any meaningful way. Despite all of these issues, the marketing lead for Stadia has told “any non-believers to take …
Read More »Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro leaks show revamped design
The Google Pixel has been around for years now, although there has been little in the way of major design changes. That is changing starting with the Google Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro, both of which have leaked today. Jon Prosser of the YouTube channel Front Page Tech …
Read More »Even more developers have left Google Stadia
Recently we reported that the vice president of Google Stadia had left the company, a troubling move for Google’s game streaming platform. It has now been announced that even more developers have left the company, bringing doubt into the platform’s future. Yesterday we reported that John Justice, the Vice President …
Read More »Stadia’s Vice President has left the company
In less than two years, Google Stadia has gone from a promising new cloud based platform which positioned itself as the future of gaming, to a shell of itself, with many of its promises still unfulfilled. In another blow to the game streaming service, the Product Head for Stadia has …
Read More »Google and other big names dropping out of Mobile World Congress 2021
Despite concerns about COVID-19, Mobile World Congress is pushing ahead with plans to hold a physical event this year. If it does end up taking place as planned, then MWC 2021 will have less industry presence compared to previous years, as a number of big companies have dropped out, including …
Read More »Google reduces its App Store commission, following Apple
In the past, digital stores such as Steam, Apple’s App Store and Google Play all took a 30% cut of every transaction. While being the industry standard, Epic Games swooped in with much fairer percentage cuts, pressuring the others to do the same. Following Apple, Google has now reduced its …
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