Google blames developers for games not running in 4K on Stadia

When Google first announced Stadia, one of its biggest selling points was being able to play games in 4K. Now that it has been in service for more than a week, gamers are allegedly complaining about the visual fidelity. Testing done by experts verifies that the games are not even rendered in the promised resolution. Instead, these only go up high as 1440p and as low as 1080p, which are just then upscaled by the Chromecast UItra. This revelation does not sit well with consumers who want their money's worth.

GameSpot points out that the tests were performed by Digital Foundry who then shared their findings. The games tested were "Red Dead Redemption II" and "Destiny 2," which are just some of the launch titles available for the game streaming service. However, the internet search company appears defensive about these allegations and released a statement regarding the graphics debacle.

According to Google, "Stadia streams at 4K and 60FPS," which is what was advertised. "This includes all aspects of our graphics pipeline from game to screen: GPU, encoder, and Chromecast Ultra all outputting at 4K to 4K TVs, with the appropriate internet connection," as indicated by the statement.

What follows after is a disclaimer which experts believe puts the blame on the game studio. "We expect that many developers can, and in most cases will, continue to improve their games on Stadia, wrote Google. "And because Stadia lives in our data centers, developers are able to innovate quickly while delivering even better experiences directly to you without the need for game patches or downloads," the company added.

Critics are likening it to a beta program where people pay to become testers. As it stands right now, the service is clearly lacking features and support for more devices, which is proving to be a big disappointment for the gaming industry. Analysts weighing in on the fiasco claim the cloud streaming still has a long way to go before it can match the quality and experience offered by PC and home consoles.

Sony is ahead of the pack with its PlayStation Now, while Microsoft is preparing to launch Project xCloud in 2020. Google Stadia is facing a tough competition and the impending arrival of next-generation gaming systems such as the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett will only widen the gap once more.