Reports have emerged that Verizon is quietly working on its own entry in the emerging cloud-based game streaming race.
According to The Verge, the service is called Verizon Gaming and is currently undergoing a selective alpha test on the Nvidia Shield, though a Google Play rollout is reportedly planned for later this month. The trial, according to emails to alpha participants, aims to test the performance of the 135 streamable games offered in the closed alpha.
While the existence of Verizon Gaming is all but confirmed at this point, most of the actual details about the app itself are less certain. For instance, there’s a chance, based on a logo in a screenshot obtained by The Verge, that the service is built on the game streaming app Utomik, which itself officially launched just last year after a two-year-long beta period.
There’s also the likelihood that Verizon Gaming will eventually take advantage of 5G broadband, though the alpha currently only works with a WiFi connection. A handful of job listings on Verzion’s website spotted by The Verge advertise that the company is looking to hire product managers for cloud gaming, 5G mobile gaming, and other related roles.
News of Verizon’s secretive game streaming app comes just days after reports emerged that Amazon is reportedly looking at starting its own cloud-based service as well. Though any information on Amazon’s service comes from unnamed sources, that service is reportedly set to go live in 2020.
Google, meanwhile, has already run public tests for its Project Stream cloud gaming attempt by offering beta participants the opportunity to play Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey through its Google Chrome-based streaming app.