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Google Stadia Details -- Games, Price, Release Date, Founder's Edition

Everything you need to know to start gaming in the cloud.

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Google has finally shared the release details for Stadia, the cloud-based game streaming platform it revealed back in March. During the Google Stadia Connect event right before E3 2019, the company announced that Stadia will first launch in November 2019 as part of a special Founder's Edition for early adopters, with the free Stadia Base for everyone else following in 2020. You can pre-order the Stadia Founder's Edition right now.

Unlike conventional platforms, Stadia is a cloud-based gaming service, with games running remotely on dedicated servers while seamlessly streaming to nearly any device that can support Google's Chrome browser. This theoretically enables players to access cutting edge games without investing in cutting edge hardware, along with a host of other interesting perks, such as the ability to jump directly from watching a streamer play something into trying and then buying the game. We got our hands on Stadia at an event earlier, and were broadly impressed, if a little skeptical about the effect of variable connection speed and input lag on twitchy games like Doom (2016), despite Google's assurances that it will not be an issue.

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Now Playing: Google Stadia Launch Date, Pricing, And More Announced - GS News Update

The only physical hardware included in Stadia is its controller, which uses Wi-Fi to connect directly to the remote data center running the game. Selling for $69, it's largely a standard gamepad, with the addition of buttons for easily capturing footage and for calling up Google Assistant to ask for in-game help.

Some big games and content was announced during the Stadia Connect event, including Baldur's Gate III and Destiny 2: Shadowkeep. You can check out our news recap for more details on all of that; below you'll get the rundown on the core details on what we learned about Stadia.

Stadia Founder's Edition

Available for pre-order now, the Founder's Edition is the only way to access Stadia at launch in November 2019. Selling for $130 from Google, the Stadia Founder's Edition includes:

  • A limited-edition night blue controller
  • A Chromecast Ultra
  • A three-month subscription to the Stadia Pro service
  • First dibs on your Stadia Name
  • A three-month Buddy Pass to Stadia Pro for a friend

Pre-order Stadia Founder's Edition now »

Stadia Base

Starting in 2020, Stadia will be available to anyone with a controller and a compatible device--at first that will include any computer with a Chrome browser and a Pixel 3 or 3a phone. Users will be able to buy and keep games, granting unlimited access to their library from anywhere at up to 1080p/60fps with stereo sound. This is known as Stadia Base.

Stadia Pro

To get the complete Stadia experience, you'll need to pay $10 per month for access to Stadia Pro, the accompanying subscription service, which includes everything from the Base experience with the addition of:

  • Streaming up to 4K/60fps/HDR in 5.1 surround sound
  • Access to a library of free games for the duration of your subscription (like Xbox Game Pass)
  • Exclusive discounts on purchasing games (for full access even with a lapsed subscription)
  • For a limited time, access to the complete Destiny 2 experience, including all previous and upcoming add-ons

Stadia Launch Countries

Stadia will launch in November in 14 countries, with more regions following in 2020: US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland.

Stadia Launch Titles

Stadia will launch with more than 30 titles, including some brand new, hotly-anticipated releases, such as Doom Eternal and Borderlands 3.

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Valgaav_219

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So no exclusives confirmed? I like the $130 price point. It's really reasonable tbh but I see no reason to own this thing

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Izraal

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@valgaav_219: Likewise, I see the value in this product for a large group of people, but it's actually a bit of a relief to be able to say "I don't need this."

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Chippiez

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Nobody:

Google: Here's more crappy connection-sensitive, subscription-based streaming tripe! Enjoy while we profit from your personal data!

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Dilandau88

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Cloud gaming needs to die. I don't want to pay any more subscriptions. I'm so over it

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yeknomdab

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Edited By yeknomdab

...That's...great, I guess? How do they plan to market this to people who are stuck with unreliable or high-latency connections? (Rural/satellite/wireless)

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Izraal

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@yeknomdab: I don't think they're the target audience. Rural communities and others without access to high speed internet are essentially left behind in many respects, and also forced to pay higher rates for inferior access to connectivity that would be superior and generally cheaper in other communities. It's actually a horribly unfair situation for those people, although that then begs comparison to other issues of economic and other opportunity disparity between regions and groups of people nationwide, and worldwide.

It isn't wrong to note that in the greater scheme of human impact, issues of homelessness and extreme poverty, access to adequate healthcare and mental healthcare, outweigh concerns over access to top tier internet capable of streaming entertainment media. On the other hand, there are always larger issues and we always find a way to not act to improve them. This can lead to a kind of paralysis of any improvements. Hopefully we will see these inequalities addressed so more people in more places have access both to the luxuries that are rightly considered the norm, as well as the more basic human rights that should also be considered the bare minimum to be afforded to all of us, but bizarrely are not.

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sweet_jcs

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@izraal: YAY CAPITALISM

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HesamB

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@izraal: ^^ good comment.

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