Google Stadia's paid subscription service launches in November
Stadia Pro to cost $9.99/month for 4K streaming, occasional free games; free version 'Stadia Base' coming next year
Today, Google announced further details about its upcoming streaming service Google Stadia, which was revealed as a subscription service (either paid or free) with the paid version launching this November.
The paid version, Stadia Pro, is the only way to get 4K, 60fps, HDR streaming from the service and will cost $9.99 (£8.99, $11.99 CAD, or €9.99) per month. Though subscribers will still have to purchase games at full price to play and own them, Pro members will receive discounts on games not available for users of the free service, as well as occasional free games beginning with Destiny 2 and its new Shadowkeep expansion. Games received for free will remain in the user's library as long as they are Pro members, will be removed if their subscription lapses, but will return if the subscription is renewed.
Stadia Base will launch after Stada Pro sometime in 2020 and will be the free version of the service, with the caveat that games played on Base will get up to 1080p and 60fps, but not 4K HDR. As with Pro, users will purchase games at full price, but Base users will not receive occasional free games.
In addition, a Founder's Edition of Stadia will go up for pre-order today for $129.99. It includes a limited-edition Stadia controller, a ChromeCast Ultra, a three-month subscription to Stadia Pro, and an additional three-month Pro subscription to be given to a friend.
Stadia controllers will be sold individually for $69, but are not required to play games on the service. Mouse and keyboard, as well as a number of other controller types will be supported.
Stadia controllers can be purchased separately for $69 each, and will be sold in three colors: black, white, and wasabi green
Google Stadia's Pro launch in November will see the service available across Chrome browsers on PC or Mac, Google Pixel 3 and 3a (with more iOS and Android platforms to come later), or on TVs through ChromeCast Ultra. The initial release will take place in 14 countries: the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and France. Additional regions will see launches next year.
Google recommends a minimum of 10 Mbps connection speed to use Google Stadia, though the game will scale down to 720p for slower connections. Ideally, Google advises 35 Mbps for Stadia Pro's 4K streaming.
In addition to the pricing and release information about Stadia, Google offered a list of publishers and games that would be on the service during its launch window, which includes the following:
- Bandai Namco - Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
- Bethesda - Doom Eternal, Doom 2016, Rage 2, The Elder Scrolls Online, Wolfenstein: Youngblood
- Bungie - Destiny 2
- Coatsink - Get Packed
- Codemasters - GRID
- Deep Silver - Metro Exodus
- Drool - Thumper
- Giants Software - Farming Simulator 19
- Larian Studios - Baldur's Gate 3
- nWay Games - Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
- Sega - Football Manager
- SNK - Samurai Shodown
- Square Enix - Final Fantasy XV, Tomb Raider Definitive Edition, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of the Tomb Raider
- 2K - NBA 2K, Borderlands 3
- Tequila Works - Gylt
- Warner Bros - Mortal Kombat 11
- THQ - Darksiders Genesis
- Ubisoft - Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Just Dance, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, Trials Rising, The Crew 2
In addition, games from Electronic Arts, Capcom, and Rockstar will be announced for Stadia at E3 2019.
But when it comes to tightly controlled playable demos surrounding big events such as E3 or Gamescom, the ability of Stadia to provide a playable live demo with pre-purchase tie-in anywhere on the planet is the real gamechanger. Ask anybody waiting in line for five hours to play 10 minutes of a game, if they rather were at home playing the demo from there. Forget the auditorium and people at home staring at somebody playing the game during a presentation, imagine the entire audience on location and at home playing the game live and on the spot five seconds after its existence was announced on stage. Sure, many will later play it locally on console and PC, but that moment is the moment they bought it, the moment when Google helped make the sale, the moment for which Google will be paid its due.
I think Stadia can also be "The Place to run Alpha and Betas" in the nature of what you just said. If you want to test an idea - go there. Perhaps it can either be a separate tab in the UI or even players can get it for free (say if they are Members) and the devs actually pay Google for the infrastructure and feedback collection (data included).
But when it comes to tightly controlled displays that surround big events like E3 2019 or Gamescom, google Stadia's ability to provide live playback with pre-purchase connectivity anywhere on the planet is the real gamechanger. Ask anyone waiting in line for five hours to play 10 minutes of the game, if they are at home playing the demo from there. Forget the hall and people at home stare at someone playing the game during a presentation, and imagine the entire audience on the site and at home playing the game immediately and immediately after five seconds of announcing their presence on stage. Sure, many will later play locally on the console and PC, but that is the moment they bought it, the moment Google helped make the sale, the moment Google will pay its dues.
The times I’ve been to E3, I was just cheesed because they were demo station sitting there not being used, and they wouldn’t let me play because I didn’t have an appointment. I could’ve probably gone through two or three sessions before the person who did finally showed up