One of the promises of Stadia Pro for early adopters was the ability to share Stadia with a friend for 3 months, giving Pro users the ability to get another person to play along with them and possibly at least buy into Stadia Base when it launches in February. I can attest to the need for this as I rarely play games on my own. It’s just more fun with a friend.
When Stadia launched, one of the big complaints about the fledgling platform was the fact that users were promised certain perks that simply weren’t there yet. Among those complaints was the missing Buddy Pass each Pro user was supposed to get. As Gabriel and I both ordered Stadia, we were 100% ready to lend our Buddy Passes to Joe, but we simply haven’t been able to yet.
Today, it looks like that is changing. Rolling out this morning in the Stadia app, Buddy Passes are available and ready for you to share. And using them couldn’t be simpler. All you need to do is open your Stadia app, click the envelope icon in the top-left, and then click the button at the bottom that says ‘Send your Buddy Pass.’ At this point, you’ll be prompted with how to share the Invite Code, so be careful with it. The code will also be emailed to your Stadia account email address for safe keeping.
Once you send out this invite code, literally anyone can use it, but only once. This code is exactly the same code we were all waiting on when Stadia launched last week, so it is quite precious. Whoever is the first to open the Stadia app and input that code will then claim it and have access to Stadia Pro along with the ability to claim free games while they are in that Buddy Pass 3-month window.
That’s a pretty handsome gift to give anyone, and I think the generous offering for an extended period will go a long way in getting new subscribers on board. Stadia is quickly shaking off the launch day jitters and addressing problems, issues and missing features. If they continue this pace, by the time Stadia Base becomes available in February, I’d fully expect the full force of Stadia to be on display for everyone to use and enjoy. I know we’re all loving it here in the office.
