Google addresses complaints of sub-4K image quality on Stadia

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  A shot of Destiny 2 streamed at 4K to a Chromecast Ultra (image shot using a DSLR off a TV because that is the only way to get fully portable Stadia screenshots from a Chromecast). [credit: Kyle Orland ]

Since March, Google has been promising that its streaming Stadia platform would be capable of full 4K, 60fps gameplay (for users with a robust Internet connection and $10/month Stadia Pro subscription). But technical analyses since launch have shown that some of the service's highest profile games aren't hitting that mark.

A Digital Foundry analysis of Red Dead Redemption 2 on Stadia, for instance, found that the game actually runs at a native 2560x1440 resolution, which is then upscaled to the 4K standard of 4096x2160 via the Chromecast Ultra. And a Bungie representative said that the Stadia version of Destiny 2 runs at the PC equivalent of "medium" graphics settings and that the game will "render at a native 1080p and then upsample [to 4K] and apply a variety of techniques to increase the overall quality of effect."

As we noted in our review, at normal TV viewing distances, Stadia's apparently upscaled 4K images can look relatively comparable to a native 4K image from a high-end console (Stadia's PC and mobile resolution is currently limited to a disappointing 1080p). But with Google claiming server instances that have a console-beating "10.7 GPU teraflops" of polygon pushing power to devote to a game, many Stadia customers are wondering why they aren't getting the full native resolution that the company has long promised.