Finally we have comprehensive set of details on Google’s hugely anticipated gaming debut, Stadia. At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2019, Google provided eager gamers with pricing, availability and launch dates for Google Stadia. Stadia was announced earlier in March this year at the company’s annual dev con.
Google Stadia will be a subscription based cloud gaming service which claims stream games up to 4K resolution. Not only can it be accessed by laptops and desktops through the Google Chrome browsers but also through selected mobile phones like Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a and the Chromecast Ultra streaming devices.
In terms of pricing tiers, there will be two — the Stadia Base and the Stadia Pro. Stadia Base is free for any game purchased via Stadia and will deliver a 1080/60p quality (at 10 Mbps). Stadia Pro will cost you $9.99 monthly with up to 4K/60p HDR quality (at 35 Mbps) with a 5.1 surround sound along with discounts and free games already in your library.
Google has also announced a Stadia controller which will cost around $70. Though it is an optional gaming accessory, it can be connected to the internet wirelessly to play games. It will come in three color variants, namely – black, white and wasabi green.
The Stadia Founder’s Edition preorder offer which costs $129.99, includes many perks as it’s a limited period offer. It gives you a first access to the Stadia service, limited-edition controller, three months of Stadia Pro, a Chromecast Ultra streaming device and also a buddy pass which gives your friend a 3 months trial of Stadia Pro.
The service will be launched in 14 countries including the US, UK, Canada, France, Italy, Spain and a few others.
The launch games include popular ones like Mortal Combat 11, Doom Eternal and Assassins Creed Odyssey and also, other games which are Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, Baldur’s Gate, Gylt, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, Borderlands 3, Get Packed and Just Dance. Game publishers include Take 2 interactive which are the creators of games like GTA and Red Dead Redemption, EA which is popular for creation of FIFA, Bethesda which is the maker of Elder Scrolls and Fallout and Square Enix which was responsible for the Final Fantasy series.
Google will be using their video hosting service, YouTube, to gain advantage over the other gaming services by providing the gamer with means to stream seamlessly on YouTube while playing games on Stadia. This move will one of its biggest plus points as the game streaming communities are soaring new heights on YouTube with their viewership.
Google Stadia is expected to be launched in November this year. It is available for preorder on Google Play in selected countries.
