So, let’s talk about those Windows games rumored to be coming to Stadia

Leading up to the 2022 Google for Games Developer Summit, there was buzz regarding a potential emulator being developed on Linux that would allow games developed for Microsoft Windows to be easily ported to Stadia. The implications of such a claim were huge. Stadia already boasts a large library of games as a platform new to the cloud gaming market, with over 100 additional games to be available to gamers by the end of 2022, but what if any Windows game could be brought over and run on Google’s impressive cloud technology with little friction?

Well, the Google For Games Developer Summit came and went, and with it, we learned a bit about its plans to port these titles to its architecture. Actually, we already knew some of its plans, and the other aspect that was revealed was much less of a big deal than everyone thought it was going to be. So much so that Stadia didn’t even bother to mention it during the primary keynote that day.

The announcement came in the form of a Stadia session called “How to write a Windows emulator for Linux from scratch”, hosted by Marcin Undak who is part of the Stadia Porting Platform team. In that talk, which you can actually watch below, he spoke about how he and a small team of just a few other individuals have found a way to run unmodified Windows games on Stadia using something called “Binary Translation”.

Porting games from Windows to Stadia is not an easy task if done manually, especially for smaller developers or older games, but luckily, Google provides a Stadia Porting Toolkit (for translating Windows APIs to Linux. E.G. DXVK for DirectX API implementation) as well as out of the box Unity and Unreal Engine integration and AAA studios like Bethesda have found that the process is pretty straight forward (especially since they’re accustomed to making multi-platform titles).

Now, because Stadia is built on a highly customized and specifically stripped down x64 version of Linux and utilizes Vulkan rendering, PulseAudio and only provides a proprietary interface for handling input, online, and a few other things, Marcin and his team were able to utilize this “Binary Translation” method to replace DLL files with their own (or point to their own internally, rather) and then directly launch the game from there. It is a bit more complex than that, but you can watch the talk below if you want to know the specifics.

Basically, it’s similar to Wine and Proton insomuch that it allows Windows games to run on Stadia without recompilation or any other platform-specific work. This is pretty darn cool, but from what I understand, it also means that only 64-bit games can run this way, and only games that are DRM free and require no game launcher.

So, as you can see, this method of running Windows games on Stadia is still in early development, and is only being worked on by a small team (which can be beneficial sometimes). With that being said, Stadia already has two other major ways it’s enticing Windows game developers to port their games to Stadia, and honestly, that’s really what’s worth talking about here.

First, something called “Low Change Porting” has already been used in the past and continues to be an option for plenty of Stadia games that were previously Windows titles (Cities Skylines, Overcooked, etc). This method is designed to reduce the time and resources required for developers to bring games to Stadia, and it will become more broadly accessible later this year.

Studios like Hand Games, Legacy Games, Milestone S.r.l. Nacon, Paradox Interactive, Saber Interactive, Steel Wool Studios, Team17 and Wired Productions are taking advantage of Low Change Porting, and it seems to be promising, especially as the number and frequency of Stadia title releases has skyrocketed as of late.

The last point I want to bring up that will encourage developers to bring their games to Stadia, and certainly one more appealing than the experimental Linux Binary Translation method is that the company is temporarily boosting its revenue sharing split to be more in favor of developers.

Until 2023, devs will receive 85 percent of sales revenue for games released after October 1, 2022, with Google receiving just 15 percent. After the game hits $3 million in earnings, the split will revert back to 70/30. This alone is extremely attractive for anyone looking to increase the reach of their game, and will very likely be the primary catalyst for more Windows games coming to Stadia.

Starting in Q4 this calendar year, we’re launching a limited time incentive program to adjust our revenue share for newly signed games to an 85-15 split for game sales up to a $3 million threshold. This will apply to all games launching in Q4 this year and in 202, and in 2023. That means you as a Stadia partner will earn 85% of your title sales and Google will earn 15%. Once your title’s total sales reach a $3 million threshold, the revenue share will revert back to the current split.

– Careen Yap, Stadia Strategic Business Development

As you can clearly see, Google is taking a multifaceted approach to growing Stadia as a service and its offerings. This is common with the tech giant – have many different teams working on many different ways of solving a problem, and then cutting the fat later down the road. There’s no guarantee that Binary Translation project will grow or evolve, but if it does, that would be incredibly cool since it’s a neat experiment. If it doesn’t though, the new revenue split and Low Change Porting will continue to feed the flame and help the cloud gaming platform grow through 2022 and beyond, and that’s a win for gamers!