E3 2019: Google Stadia Buddy Pass -- What Is It And How Can You Get One?

Stadia Connect, Google's pre-E3 2019 press conference, revealed lots more information about its new streaming service, Stadia. The conference brought us information on Stadia's price, release date, and games lineup, as well as our first glimpse of its buddy pass.

Buddy pass allows you to share your Stadia Pro subscription with a friend for three months. Stadia Pro is the platform's premium service. It enables 4K video streaming for the games you play. It will also include free access to a selection of games and "exclusive" discounts. Stadia Pro will cost $10 / £9 per month.

Stadia's buddy pass, meanwhile, is included in the asking price for the Stadia Founder's Edition, which launches in November for $130 / £120. It also comes with two physical devices--a limited-edition night blue Stadia controller and a Chromecast Ultra--as well as three months of Stadia Pro, the aforementioned buddy pass, and first dibs on choosing a Stadia username.

At launch, the Stadia Founder's Edition will be available in 14 countries around the world: the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland. The buddy pass is region-free between any of those, so if you live in the US, for example, and have a Norweigan friend, you can gift them three months of Stadia Pro. Google says the platform will expand to more regions after launch, although it hasn't yet specified which.

We learned a lot more about Stadia during the Connect presentation. Google also revealed some of the games that will be coming to the service, including Ghost Recon Breakpoint and the rumored Baldur's Gate 3. Borderlands 3 will also be there at launch, as will Destiny 2 with its full suite of content, including the upcoming Shadowkeep expansion.

For more on Google's new streaming service, check out everything Stadia can do out of the box. You might also be interested in Stadia's internet speed requirements.

Pre-order Stadia Founder's Edition now »

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