It's no secret that Google has been working on a gaming console. They've had a patent filed since late 2018 showing off the potential design for the new console's controller. It's kind of the typical console controller design that most of us have already come to know and probably love.

It's currently unclear as to what Google has planned for this device. Multiple sources have said that it will be a console that focuses on streaming. However, some rumors have suggested that the hardware included will make it more powerful than an Xbox One X. And while a lot of great hardware is great, you really don't need all of that juice if your console is indeed dedicated to streaming.

It's entirely possible that Google's console will allow users to both stream games online and download them to play them locally. The streaming part is at least supported by the fact that Google has been working hard on their "Project Stream." This service recently had a lengthy beta in which people were selected to stream and play through as much of Assassin's Creed Odyssey as they wanted to. Digital Foundry put up their initial analysis of the quality of this service, which includes a look at both the visual fidelity compared to local gameplay, and how the input lag was for them.

I also had the opportunity to try out Project Stream with Assassin's Creed Odyssey. It just so happens that the test was running at the same time as I was playing the game locally on my PC. The visual quality definitely seemed to be a step down or two from the settings I was using locally. However, the framerate seemed to remain consistent and the input lag was noticeable but very, very minor. It's a far more viable option than something like PlayStation Now was (is?) when I tried playing an action game with that back when that service first came around on the PS4. Keep in mind that my experience with both of these services were when they were considered to be in "beta" and have probably improved since then.

Anyway, Google is going to reveal something at GDC 2019, which begins in just six days (March 18-22). I'm sure we'll have the latest on this as the details emerge.