Xbox Scarlett and PS5 face new battle from Google 'Yeti' streaming console

Google Assistant could play a significant role in new console

Google Yeti Streaming Console

Google is hard at work on a streaming service for video games, which will be similar to PlayStation Now, and will leverage its existing Chromecast HDMI dongle.

Ahead of the official announcement, a new patent has revealed the controller that will be used to interact with the Google-branded gaming service.

The patent document is for a notification system on the game controller that will let players know when a new title is available, when a new invitation has been received, or when there is a new request to chat. However, the patent also contains a slew of illustrations of the controller that will be used with the system.

These illustrations formed the basis of a series of lush high-resolution renders created by Twitter user @Reps, which reveal what the finished product could look like. The resulting controller is a boxy design, and makes use of the red, yellow, green and blue colours in the Google logo.

The controller has a small button with an icon of a microphone, which suggests either voice commands or voice chat will play a large part. It seems likely that Google Assistant will play a large role, given the emphasis in other Google products.

Google filed a number of illustrations with its patent that reveal the design of the controller for its "Yeti" system

The new streaming service, reportedly codenamed "Google Project Yeti" inside the company, could rival next-generation hardware from the likes of Sony and Microsoft.

The latter is widely-tipped to unveil a new console dubbed "Xbox One S All-Digital Edition", which will be available from mid-April, with the first units shipping in May ahead of the E3 games conference in June 2019.

Unlike earlier versions of the Xbox One S, the new variant will not have a disc drive. Instead, it will ship with games preinstalled, with customers able to pick from a range of titles during the check-out process.

The disc-less variant is also expected to be cheaper than the existing Xbox One S, since it ditches the cost of including a Blu-ray drive. The console is seen as a precursor to the forthcoming "Xbox Scarlett" – the codename for the next-generation of consoles that will stream games.

Later this month, Google will host a mysterious media event during the Game Developers Conference (GDC) which is expected to revolve around the streaming service likened to a “Netflix for games” that will be built on-top of the technology Google developed as part of its Project Stream trial last year.

Lead Image Credit: Twitter / @Reps

Aaron Brown

As a former Staff Writer for T3, Aaron writes about almost anything shiny and techie. When he’s not barking orders at Alexa-powered microwaves or gawping at 5G speed tests, Aaron covers everything from smartphones, tablets and laptops, to speakers, TVs and smart home gadgets. Prior to joining T3, Aaron worked at the Daily Express and and MailOnline.