After the E3 conference in 2018, rumors started spreading with claims that Google was about to enter the game streaming market with some form of a gaming console, but details at the time were a little sketchy.

In the latest developments, though, it appears that Google has actually been working on a cloud-aware gaming controller on which its rumored Chromecast-powered game streaming service would rely. A patent has appeared online with images of this internet-connected gamepad, adding more weight to previous rumors about Google entering the gaming market.

The gaming controller will reportedly be independent of any host device and even better is that it will receive chat notifications, support multiplayer gaming, play invitations, and other content, and so on. Basically, Google wants this device to be able to communicate with the devices you already have.

Google Gamepad patent

The Google gaming controller will be able to store your personal account details and host device settings such as volume and brightness. This means that when you visit your friend, you only need to sign in and pick up from where you left off.

What Google is working on has been likened to what Netflix does with movies and TV shows and is said to be based on the tech used to build Project Stream. It will be pretty interesting to see how this turns out. Google is said to be getting ready to announce this service later this month at the GDC 2019.

And BTW, Yanko Design has created renders of the gamepad based on the patent images, but of course, this might not be the end product. Check the images (gallery) below.

  • Google Gamepad patent and render
  • Google Gamepad patent and render (2)
  • Google Gamepad render
  • Google Gamepad render (2)
  • Google Gamepad render (3)
  • Google Gamepad render (6)
  • Google Gamepad render (4)
  • Google Gamepad render (5)