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It’s going to be a LONG six months.
Today, Google took the stage ahead of E3 to announce details on their upcoming gaming service Stadia. We’ll dive deeper into what Stadia could mean for the future of gaming at a later date. For now, let’s just take a look at the key points surrounding what Google is calling “the future of gaming.”
Pricing
Earlier today, rumors began flying around that Stadia would cost somewhere in the vicinity of $11.99 Canadian and it appears that they were in the ballpark. The monthly subscription, Stadia Pro, will cost $9.99 USD and will include the following perks.
Stadia Pro
- Resolution: Up to 4K
- Frame rate: 60 FPS
- Sound: 5.1 surround sound
- Buy games whenever you want
- Additional free games released regularly: Yes, starting with Destiny 2: The Collection
- Stadia Pro-exclusive discounts on select game purchases
For those not ready to commit to a monthly gaming service, Stadia will offer a free tier that will stream up to 1080P @60FPS and users can simply purchase whichever titles they choose. It’s worth noting that games purchased under the Pro subscription will remain yours even if you opt to ditch the paid service.
Release Date
Google is notorious for announcing new products then labeling them as “Coming Soon” but this time, we got at least a ballpark of when to expect the streaming service to arrive.
November of this year, Stadia will be available but it appears that will be only for the paid platform with the free service launching sometime next year.
Founder’s Edition
If you’re like us, you’ve been impatiently waiting to see Stadia make its debut. During the announcement, Google showed off some amazing video trailers from some of the biggest software makers in the industry and followed up with a look at the new hardware for Stadia.
The Stadia controllers will come in three distinct colors that look exactly like what you’d expect from the hardware team in Mountain View. The controllers will include a Google Assistant button and a very handy capture button. For the standard controllers, you’ll pay $69 and get your choice of White, Black or Wasabi.
If you’re wanting to get in on the action asap and want to pick up some perks in the process, Stadia is offering preorders for the Founder’s Edition which includes an exclusive Midnight Blue version of the controller.
Additionally, Founder’s will enjoy a new Chromecast Ultra to stream their 4K games, all the perks of Stadia Pro for three months as well as a three-month buddy pass to share with a friend. Preorders will also reserve spots to get first pick at in-game user names.
Games
Going into this event, there wasn’t a lot of information about which games would be available on the platform. Destiny 2 was all the buzz and honestly, the fact that Bungie is onboard is enough to get my attention.
Still, it’s good to know that there are already some big name games in the queue for Stadia. Here are just a few titles that should be available at launch.
- DOOM Eternal
- NBA 2K
- Final Fantasy XV
- Destiny 2 (including add-ons)
- Ghost Recon Breakpoint
- Tomb Raider Trilogy
These are just a few but there are titles for just about every type of gamer headed to Stadia. If you didn’t catch the keynote, check it out below. It’s worth watching just for the Ghost Recon trailer alone.
Stadia’s goal is to bring premium gaming to any device that will run Chrome. They did share that mobile play will start with the Pixel 3 and 3a devices with more phones supported in the future. Personally, I’ll just be excited to stream games like this on my Chromebook and actually be able to compete.
We’ve placed our preorders and will be anxiously awaiting the arrival of our Founder’s bundles in November. If you’re jumping in, hit us up and maybe we can get in a match or two.
You can find more details and preorder the Founder’s Edition at Stadia.com.
