LG today at the virtual CES 2021 announced that it's partnered with Google to bring the Stadia cloud-gaming service to its "latest webOS smart TVs" in the second half of 2021.
That means users won't need to plug a separate Chromecast Ultra into a television that already has native Chromecast support. You will, however, need a separate Stadia app on the TV, which will be available on the LG Content Store in countries where Stadia is available. (And you'll need a Stadia controller, of course.)
It's unclear whether pre-2021 LG smart TVs will get the Stadia functionality, or if it'll be limited to the new models.
In addition to 4K resolution, however, you'll also retain 5.1 surround sound, and the ability to play games in 60 frames per second.
“Supporting Stadia on LG TVs is our commitment to customers that gaming is an increasingly important feature expected by LG TV owners,” Lee Sang-woo, senior vice president of at LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company, said in a press release. “Stadia is changing how people access their favorite games and by providing webOS compatibility, we’re making an early commitment to the platform.”
Stadia is unlike just about any other gaming system (save for NVIDIA's GeForce Now) in which there's no centralized hardware connected to your television, and no games to install. Instead, all the high-powered processing and heavy storage is done on Google's service.
If that sounds magical, it sort of is, and that was made readily apparent when Stadia became one of the better ways to play the bug-ridden Cyberpunk 2077 in late 2020 and into early 2021.
