Google reportedly planning streaming platform, gaming hardware

It seems as though Google is connected to everything technology these days, but its presence in gaming has been muted in comparison to the rest of its reach. That may change according to a report that says the company may be plotting a new streaming platform and related gaming hardware.

According to Kotaku, multiple sources in the know have described meetings by Google at GDC and E3 with major gaming companies and developers about its planned streaming platform. The platform, code-named Yeti, was first rumored back in February. Those meetings apparently also included discussion of enticing development studios to its platform, or possibly outright acquiring them outright.

As described, Yeti would be able to play games with high PC requirements on low-end PCs by letting more powerful computers elsewhere do the work while the player streamed the game. This could possibly couple with the rumored hardware Google is developing, though details on how that would work were even more scarce.

The report is careful to note that Google has often moved in ineffectual bursts when it came to gaming initiatives, such as its reported gaming console back in 2013. That said, the company did recently hire Phil Harrison, an executive who spent 16 years at PlayStation (including launching the original console) and three as corporate VP for Xbox. His new role will see him working on an unknown new business that he referred to as an "extremely special opportunity."