Google’s Stadia will use the power of its server-side hardware stacks (since it is a streaming service, without any local hardware or box doing any kind of computing for you) to actually end up with some enhancements for how you play games, too. One very cool example Google talked about earlier today was how couch co-op will be affected by Stadia.
Specifically, Google will allow local couch split-screen co-op by letting each player run their instance of the game side by side—effectively delivering split-screen co-op without any degradation in image quality, performance, or the likes, which are compromises that usually come with the territory of split-screen gaming. Local co-op multiplayer has largely become a lost art outside of Nintendo in the last few years, and this is definitely my favorite announcement made by Google today.
Another thing relating to multiplayer Google confirmed today was that Stadia will support full cross-platform play. I take it more as they won’t stand in the way of developers wanting to implement it, unlike, say, Sony—but Sony (and Microsoft, and Nintendo) still have to approve it, and developers have to implement it. Stadia isn’t magic, after all.
But on the whole, no matter what brand of multiplayer you prefer, Stadia has some good news to offer.