Stadia has no server lag
Multiplayer games usually use one of two methods to connect players together. Some games use a dedicated server that processes each player’s inputs and sends back info to keep every player’s game in sync. Other games will select one player’s console to act as the “server” for everyone else in a particular session.
In either case, the quality of each player’s connection is determined entirely by their ability to connect to the server in a reasonable amount of time. Because of this, anyone who has ever played an online multiplayer game can tell you lag is common. The reasons for lag range from spotty Wi-Fi signal or a bad router configuration to just being physically farther away from the server.
Worse, the results of lag vary from game to game just as much as its causes. Lag in some games will leave you as a sitting duck for other players to stomp, while lag can actually give you an unfair advantage in other games by having your character jump around the map almost unpredictably.
When playing a multiplayer game on Stadia, players are connecting directly via Google’s network infrastructure rather than their home internet connection. That means you’re essentially guaranteed to have a fantastic connection to other players and/or the game’s server.
This benefit is multiplied by the fact that, with the exception of one game, there is currently no way for a Stadia player to play with someone from another console or platform. Therefore, every player you can currently bump into will have the same Google-powered internet connection that you do. Bungie, the developers of Destiny 2,
even directly addressed this in the lead-up to the release of Google Stadia.
[…] if you’re playing on Stadia — with Stadia players — you’re all playing on the same cloud together. […] So, like, the additional latency you’re getting from your controller round-trip or whatever is gonna be offset in a positive way playing PvP on Stadia.
And it shows. In the two months I’ve been playing Destiny 2 on Stadia, I have only witnessed one instance of another player visibly lagging. In fact, the occurrence struck me as exceedingly odd, in the clearest example of an “exception that proves the rule.” By eliminating the dread of playing with someone with a bad connection, Google Stadia has become the best possible place to play competitive multiplayer games.
