Google Stadia Release Date Window Is Set For This Year, More Details Revealed At GDC 2019

Google has revealed a vague release window for its new Stadia platform. The service will launch later this year, coming first to the US, UK, Canada, and "most of Europe," with a worldwide release coming at some point after that.

Pricing was not revealed for the new platform; while you won't need specific hardware, you will presumably need to buy access to games or some kind of subscription service, but Google didn't share any information regarding this aspect of the service. However, we did get lots of other details besides that, including the basics of what Stadia is: Google's vision for a new kind of gaming service powered by the cloud. You'll be able to play games, even high-end ones like Assassin's Creed Odyssey or Doom Eternal, on most any internet-connected device.

As well as offering cloud streaming of games to phones, laptops, PCs, and TVs, it will also launch with its own controller. In addition, the company has founded a first-party development house to make games exclusively for Stadia.

Stadia will support cross-platform multiplayer and allow you to seamlessly switch between devices. You can also simply click a link while watching a game on YouTube to dive into that very same game at the exact same point. Alternatively, streamers can allow viewers to sign up to join in to play in the same game session with them. All of this is done seamlessly; you don't have to download anything or have specific, high-end hardware to play.

At launch, Stadia will support 4K HDR gameplay at 60 FPS, with plans to scale that up to 8K at 120 FPS. Ubisoft, Doom Eternal developer Id Software, and Q-Games were among the developers mentioned as partners at Google's GDC conference, while more than 100 studios already have Stadia in their hands. For more, check out everything we know about Google Stadia.