PUBG Surprise Launches On Google Stadia With New Pioneer Edition

A Stadia Connect revealed a number of new announcements, including the surprise-launch of PUBG with exclusive content, the announcement of several upcoming third-party games, and new Pro games coming in May.

During its latest Stadia Connect, Google announced 11 more games coming to its cloud-based game streaming service, including several games scheduled to arrive over the next month, like PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds: Pioneer Edition. This special edition of PUBG is actually available for Google Stadia right now.

The base version of PUBG costs $30 USD, while this new Pioneer Edition is available for $40 USD. That higher price tag includes the base game, the Survivor Pass: Cold Front, and Google Stadia-exclusive skins. Cold Front is the current battle pass for PUBG, offering a new prize track to go with the start of Season 7, which sees the return of snow-covered Vikendi.

PUBG is one of several high-profile games on the way to the service, with the likes of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, as well as the Madden and FIFA series, on the way.

In GameSpot's PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds review, Michael Higham writes, "PUBG's technical shortcomings can undermine its broader achievements on rare occasions, but they don't override your desire to continue playing. Each phase of a match presents a different type of tension that is equal parts thrilling and terrifying, driven by the insatiable desire to be the last person (or squad) standing."

Our review for Google's cloud-based game streaming service, however, was not as positive. In GameSpot's Google Stadia review last year, Peter Brown wrote, "It may not be possible to do a one-size-fits-all fee given that Google hopes to offer the most popular games day-and-date with consoles and PC, but there has to be a better middle road between a flat fee and the high per-game cost at Stadia's launch. Until it gets there, Stadia will struggle to be viewed as anything more than a costly curiosity."